Player rights protected by Brussels court

The Brussels Court of Appeal ruled that the Belgian Football Federation (KBVB) should end its disciplinary case against three former Lierse players, which are suspected of being involved in match fixing, until civil and legal cases have finished, according to Le Soir.

The court has set in motion the process of banning Belgian clubs from taking disciplinary action against players prior to impending civil court cases.

A person that is given a disciplinary sanction before a civil case takes place can claim an appropriate court has not judged him.

Last year the KBVB opened a disciplinary case against Romanian midfielder Marius Mitu for his alleged implication in the country's match fixing scandal when he was still playing with Lierse. He was then dismissed by Anderlecht, the club he had subsequently joined.

The judge ruled that this would constitute a violation of the European convention of human rights and that an eventual disciplinary measure could violate his right to work, freedom of expression and the respect for his private life.

The ruling also applies to Laurent Fassotte and Igor Nikolovski, also implicated in the scandal involving Chinese businessman Ye Zheyuan.

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.