Healy and Farrelly fail in CAS appeal

COLIN HEALY and Gareth Farrelly will have to see out the rest of their sentence after the Court Of Arbitration For Sport (CAS) in Switzerland yesterday rejected Cork City’s appeal against the FIFA ruling which has kept the two players on the sideline since they signed for the club in February.

It was always the case that Healy and Farrelly would be eligible to play from the start of next month but Cork had been hoping that the CAS would uphold their appeal in time to allow the players to be available for selection for Friday’s Cup game against Shelbourne and the Intertoto qualifier against Valur of Iceland later this month.

The City delegation – which included manager Damien Richardson, the two players and legal representatives — received what they felt was a sympathetic hearing when they presented their case to the Tribunal in Lausanne yesterday.

The CAS listened to what the club have described as “a series of trenchant criticisms” of FIFA’s application of the relevant rules and acknowledged the world governing body’s “lack of transparency” in the matter but Cork’s case ultimately floundered on the technicalities of loan agreements and short-term contracts.

Both players had previously signed short-term contracts – Farrelly with Blackpool and Healy with Bradford City – which the English FA permit but which are not recognised by FIFA.

The CAS only rarely overturn decisions by sporting bodies but, in an unusual dimension to yesterday’s judgement, they declined to award costs either against Cork City or in favour of FIFA – an acknowledgement, the club insists, of the strength of its position and legal arguments.

Nevertheless, hopes that the club might be awarded compensation for wages paid to the players for the last five months were also dashed by the Tribunal’s decision.

Damien Richardson afterwards expressed his disappointment at the outcome saying: “The human aspect of this case should not be forgotten.”