Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat moved to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to challenge the decision of the Union World Wrestling (UWW) to disqualify her from the 50kg freestyle wrestling final on Wednesday for being found overweight. Vinesh in her appeal requested to be awarded a shared silver medal in the competition. The CAS has accepted her plea and released its first official statement on Friday. The first hearing in the matter is scheduled on Friday itself and the court is likely to announce a judgment before the end of the Paris Olympics.
This article will explain the way of working of the CAS along with mentioning two notable judgments in the past and what factors the court considered while procuring the judgment.
What is the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)
Established in 1984, it is an autonomous institution to settle any dispute concerning sports through arbitration or mediation. It functions under the administrative and financial authority of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS) and is independent of any sports organization. It handles a variety of sports-related issues including doping cases, disciplinary and contractual matters, and more. Its orders are enforceable as judgments of a regular court. The court settles legal disputes between the parties by arbitration, pronouncing arbitral awards, or through mediation. It is based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and has temporary court set-ups in Olympic host cities.
How CAS arbitrates in a matter
Maria Sharapova Doping Case (2016):
After being found positive for the banned substance meldonium, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) imposed a two-year ban on Maria Sharapova. Meldonium was prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in January 2016. Though Sharapova had been using meldonium for many years under a different brand name, the court observed that she didn’t pay enough attention to the updated list of prohibited substances. The court also determined that Sharapova never used meldonium to enhance her performance. CAS reduced her ban to fifteen months from two years as it concluded the matter to be a case of negligence and therefore, less severity.
Caster Semenya Case (2019):
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), now known as World Athletics, introduced hyperandrogenism regulations in 2018. Hyperandrogenism, a condition concerned with high testosterone levels, is considered an unfair advantage. The regulations required female athletes with high testosterone levels to lower them through surgery or medication. Caster Semenya, a South African female runner with hyperandrogenism contested the matter in CAS. The court found the regulations discriminatory, albeit necessary to ensure fair competition. The court heavily relied on the scientific evidence presented by the IAAF. While ruling in favor of the IAAF, the court agreed that such measures were necessary.
Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification, arguments and what could be expected
On the day of the gold medal match in the 50kg wrestling category, Vinesh Phogat failed the second weigh-in as her weight exceeded 50kg. According to the competition rules, a wrestler’s result would be nullified if he (or she) does not make the weight on either day of the competition and would be ranked last. In her plea, Vinesh sought the decision to be annulled. However, CAS mentioned in their statement that it would’ve not been possible due to the paucity of time. Vinesh then requested to be awarded the silver (shared) medal in the competition as weight gain occurred as a part of the recovery process after the first day of fighting.
Nenad Lalovic, the president of the UWW had already made his stance clear on the matter. While expressing his disappointment at the unfortunate disqualification of the Indian wrestler, Lalovic insisted that rules must be followed and respected for a fair competition.
In the case of Maria Sharapova, the court had noted negligence as a merit factor while reducing her ban. It often considers fair play as a big factor when deciding on a matter of arbitration. It’ll be interesting to see what would be considered merit in the appeal of Vinesh Phogat. The court is likely to announce the verdict before the closing of the Paris Olympics 2024.
