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Sport court rejects Uruguay players’ appeal

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed an appeal by five Uruguayan footballers – including Liverpool’s Darwin Núñez – and the country’s football association (AUF) against sanctions imposed for violent scenes after a Copa América match last year.

The players and the AUF had challenged fines and suspensions imposed by the sport’s South American governing body CONMEBOL.

This followed a violent altercation at the end of the Copa América semi-final between Uruguay and Colombia, played on 10 July 2024 in Charlotte, USA.

Several members of the Uruguayan football team, including the five players, became involved in the clashes between Colombian fans, AUF technical delegates, and Uruguayan fans that led to the evacuation of 100 people.

‘Self-defence’ claim rejected

The appeal sought to annul the match suspensions on the players, annul the fines on the AUF and the players or, as an alternative, have all sanctions reduced.

The CAS panel, however, rejected the players’ arguments that they were acting in self-defence, as relatives of the Uruguayan team were situated in the same sector where the clash with Colombian fans occurred.

“The panel found that, in this case, the principle of self-defence does not apply and that the conduct of the players constituted a voluntary, violent, and unjustified action, which was in violation of the CONMEBOL disciplinary code,” a CAS statement stated.

It added that the panel had dismissed the appeal and upheld the CONMEBOL decision in full.