December 04, (THEWILL) — The Court of Arbitration for Sport has ruled that UEFA must investigate Olympique Lyonnais for fielding an ineligible player during their Europa League fixture against FC Utrecht.
The Swiss-based tribunal found that European football’s governing body had wrongfully declined to begin disciplinary proceedings following a complaint from the Dutch club.
Utrecht lodged its appeal after Lyon used Algerian winger Rachid Ghezzal in the match on 25 September, which the French side won 1-0.
Ghezzal entered the game in place of Adam Karabec during the 65th minute despite not being registered by Lyon ahead of the Europa League campaign.
The oversight prompted Utrecht to seek intervention from CAS when UEFA did not address the matter.
The arbitration court has now compelled UEFA to launch formal proceedings into the incident.
Utrecht officials have called on the governing body to fulfil this obligation without delay and with proper attention to detail.
In an official statement, the Eredivisie club confirmed it would track progress carefully. “FC Utrecht expects UEFA to implement the imposed obligation carefully and expeditiously,” the statement read.
“The club will continue to monitor developments closely and will communicate when there is reason to do so.”
Whether UEFA will sanction Lyon, or the severity of any potential punishment, remains undetermined at this stage.
The case centres on administrative failures surrounding player registration rather than deliberate misconduct, though the outcome could still affect Lyon’s standing in the competition.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
