Clever Consult lawyers defended the interests of football coach Kurban Berdyev before the CAS

We asked Anna Antseliovich, the Head of Sports Practice of Clever Consult, about the most interesting case in her career. Anna talked about the completed case before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne (CAS), where she represented football coach Kurban Berdyev. 

"The CAS hearing took place back in late January 2020, but due to long delays related to the pandemic, the parties did not receive the decision until late August 2020," Anna Antseliovich said.

The CAS arbitrators considered the claims of the former head coach of FC Rostov, the living legend of Russian football, Kurban Berdyev. The Appelant's claim was about the payment of salary outstanding under his employment contract for the time he worked for FC Rostov. The case was complicated – everything hinged on the interpretation of the Russian Football Union Regulation on the two-year deadline for making such claims, and the Club expectedly insisted that the deadline for the most part of the salary outstanding had expired.

"The hearing lasted several hours, we had to quote the precedents of the CAS and Russian civil courts in similar cases, as well as refer to fundamental legal principles to convince the CAS arbitrators of the validity of our position," the Head of Clever Consult's Sports Practice said.

As a result, after appealing to the Russian Football Union Dispute Resolution Chamber to enforce the CAS decision, the remaining amount owed by FC Rostov, which the Сlub had long avoided paying, was paid in favour of Kurban Berdyev.