Pursuant to article 52 of the FIFA Statutes, the Disciplinary, Appeal and Ethics Committees are FIFA’s judicial bodies. These three judicial bodies are to be composed in such a way that the members have the knowledge, abilities and specialist experience that is necessary for the due completion of their tasks. The chairperson, deputy chairperson and members of these committees need to fulfil the independence criteria as defined by the FIFA Governance Regulations. They are elected by the FIFA Congress for terms lasting four years, and for a maximum of three terms.
The Disciplinary Committee pronounces the sanctions described in the FIFA Statutes and the FIFA Disciplinary Code on member associations, clubs, officials, players, intermediaries and licensed match agents.
Disciplinary Committee (Composition)
The Disciplinary Committee shall consist of a chairperson, a deputy chairperson and a specific number of other members. The chairperson and deputy chairperson of the Disciplinary Committee must be qualified to practise law. The committee shall act in accordance with the FIFA Disciplinary Code. It shall take its decisions in the presence of at least three members. In special cases, the chairman may decide alone. The Disciplinary Committee pronounces the sanctions described in the FIFA Statutes and the FIFA Disciplinary Code on member associations, clubs, officials, players, intermediaries and licensed match agents. The disciplinary competence of the Congress and the Executive Committee with regard to the suspension and expulsion of members is reserved.
Chairman
Jorge PALACIO
Colombia
Deputy chairman
Anin YEBOAH
Ghana
Member
Arnaud DUMONT
Tahiti
Francisco SCHERTEL MENDES
Brazil
Gudni BERGSSON
Iceland
Jose Ernesto MEJIA
Honduras
Kossi Guy AKPOVY
Togo
Leonardo STAGG
Ecuador
Lord VEEHALA
Tonga
Mark WADE
Bermuda
Paola LOPEZ
Mexico
Polly HANDFORD
England
Salemane PHAFANE
Lesotho
Thi My Dung NGUYEN
Vietnam
Thomas HOLLERER
Austria
Wassef JELAIEL
Tunisia
10 May 2024
Equatorial Guinea Football Association
10 May 2024
Mr. Emilio Nsue Lopez
7 May 2024
Ms. Nadejda Colesnicenco
4 Apr 2024
Ecuadorian Football Association
4 Apr 2024
Club Sport Emelec
According to article 36 paragraph 3 of the FIFA Code of Ethics, the chairperson of the adjudicatory chamber may decide to publish the decision taken, partly or in full, provided that the names mentioned in the decision (other than the ones related to the party) and any other information deemed sensitive by the chairperson of the adjudicatory chamber are duly anonymised.
The following decisions have been notified by the Independent Ethics Committee since 1 January 2019.
New decisions of the FIFA Ethics Committee are uploaded every four months.
Latest update: 1 June 2024.
Ethics Committee (Composition)
The independent Ethics Committee is one of FIFA’s judicial bodies. It is primarily responsible for investigating possible infringements of the FIFA Code of Ethics. Since 2012, it has been divided into two separate chambers – the investigatory chamber and the adjudicatory chamber
Chairman
Martin NGOGA
Rwanda
Vassilios SKOURIS
Greece
Deputy chairman
Bruno DE VITA
Canada
Fiti SUNIA
USA
Parusuraman SUBRAMANIAN
Malaysia
Deputy chairwoman
Maria Claudia ROJAS
Colombia
23 May 2024
FED-484_Mizanur Rahman
23 May 2024
FED-483_Abu Nayeem Shohag
23 May 2024
FED-482_Imrul Hasan Sharif
23 May 2024
FED-481_Abu Hossain
23 May 2024
FED-480_Abdus Salam Murshedy
The Appeal Committee is responsible for hearing appeals against decisions from the Disciplinary Committee and the Ethics Committee that are not declared final by the relevant FIFA regulations.
Appeal Committee (Composition)
The Appeal Committee is composed of a chairman, a vice-chairman and the number of members deemed necessary. The chairman and the vice-chairman must have legal training. The Commission shall act in accordance with the FIFA Disciplinary Code Decisions are made in the presence of at least three members. In special cases, the chairman may decide alone. The Appeals Committee is responsible for the handling of appeals against decisions of the Disciplinary Commission, which FIFA regulations do not define as final. The decisions of the Appeals Committee are final and binding on all parties concerned. All rights to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) are reserved.
Chairman
Neil EGGLESTON
USA
Deputy chairman
Thomas BODSTROM
Sweden
Member
Andres PATON
Argentina
Celestin YANINDJI
Central African Republic
Christian ANDREASEN
Faroe Islands
Cristina GONZALEZ
Guatemala
Dan KAKARAYA
Papua New Guinea
Domingos MONTEIRO
São Tomé and Príncipe
Jahangir BAGLARI
IR Iran
Larissa ZAKHAROVA
Russia
Oliver SMITH
USA
Oscar CHIRI
Peru
Salman AL ANSARI
Qatar
Samuel RAM
Fiji
2 May 2024
Mr. Matej Jakubek
1 May 2024
Chilean Football Association
20 Feb 2024
OC_04_FDD-17320_FIFA_20.02.2024_Grounds Decision Overmars
15 Feb 2024
Mr. Leroy Sané
12 Feb 2024
FDD-16857_Rubiales**
FIFA is committed to guaranteeing the rights of individuals who lack the financial means to defend themselves properly in proceedings before the FIFA judicial bodies (Disciplinary Committee, Appeal Committee and Ethics Committee).
Scope
In line with article 46 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code and article 40 of the FIFA Code of Ethics, the following types of legal aid may be provided:
The applicant may be released from having to pay the costs of the relevant proceedings.
A pro bono counsel may be selected and appointed to assist the individual.
The applicant’s own reasonable travel and accommodation costs (as well as those of any witnesses, experts and pro bono counsel) may be covered by FIFA.
For the avoidance of doubt, legal aid is limited to natural persons (individuals) and, as such, is not available to member associations, clubs or other entities that are not natural persons.
List of pro bono counsel
The current list of pro bono counsel selected by FIFA and who may act in proceedings before the FIFA judicial bodies can be viewed here.
How to apply for legal aid and pro bono counsel
An applicant may apply for legal aid and pro bono counsel by submitting a communication viathe FIFA Legal Portal under the relevant case, duly explaining the need for their application. In support of their application, the applicant must provide all necessary information required to establish their financial situation (bank statement(s), tax statement(s), etc.).
The chairperson of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee or the chairperson of the adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee, as applicable, will decide on the request for legal aid at their sole discretion. Such decisions are final and without appeal.
For the sake of good order, it is to be noted that the relevant request will not be granted if it is clear that the applicant has sufficient financial means. The applicant may, however, request that their application be reconsidered should their financial situation deteriorate significantly after the initial review.
Legal aid and pro bono counsel may be requested by a defendant as soon as a case is opened against them. Although legal aid and pro bono counsel may be requested at any time during the proceedings, applicants are encouraged to submit their applications for legal aid and pro bono counsel as early as possible.
FIFA is committed to safeguarding and promoting the integrity of football worldwide, whilst also ensuring that the football stakeholders are supported by leading experts in disciplinary or ethics matters.
Scope In accordance with article 36 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code and article 61 of the FIFA Code of Ethics, independent integrity experts may be entrusted by the Secretariat to the FIFA Judicial Bodies to support the necessary investigations into potential breaches of the FIFA regulations.
In particular, they may, as required:
engage third parties;
gather evidence by collecting written information, requesting documents and obtaining witness statements;
request the opening of disciplinary and/or ethics proceedings;
propose that disciplinary measures be imposed on member associations, clubs and individuals;
represent FIFA in proceedings before the FIFA judicial bodies;
lodge appeals against decisions rendered by the FIFA judicial bodies in disciplinary proceedings; and
support FIFA before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in appeal proceedings against decisions rendered by the FIFA judicial bodies.
List of independent integrity experts
The current list of independent integrity experts selected by FIFA may be accessed here.
A ban on registering new players either nationally or internationally (known as a registration ban) is one of the potential disciplinary measures (sanctions) that may be imposed on clubs by the FIFA judicial bodies.
In accordance with article 6 paragraph 3 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee may impose bans on registering new players on legal persons only, specifically on clubs.
Once a registration ban has been imposed, the club in question will be prevented from registering any new players, either nationally or internationally and whether as amateurs or as professionals, for the full duration of the measure. The club will therefore only be able to register new players again after serving the ban in its entirety or in the event that the ban is lifted by the FIFA administration (usually upon the completion of one or more specific actions by the club).
For further details on registration bans, we kindly refer you, in particular, to FIFA circular no. 1843. This lays out, among others, the rules surrounding the enforcement of registration bans, the exceptional actions that do not contravene a ban, and the relevant information on the gender and status of the players concerned (i.e. male or female and amateur or professional) by such bans, as well as the discipline covered (i.e. 11-a-side football, futsal or beach soccer).
In this context, and in line with FIFA’s continued efforts to promote transparency and maintain full disclosure in relation to the activities of the FIFA judicial bodies, please note that a list of clubs currently subject to registration bans is available here.
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