Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Racing team has filed an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to contest the FIA International Court of Appeal’s decision to strip Shaikh Khalid Bin Faisal Al Qasimi of his Dubai Rally and Middle East Rally Championship titles in favour of the Qatari driver Nasser Al Attiyah. CAS, based in Lausanne, Switzerland is the definitive arbitration tribunal for all sport-related affairs.
The dispute began on November 29 last when Shaikh Khalid Al Qasimi won the Dubai International Rally, beating Al Attiyah by the smallest margin in MERC history (0.3secs) and was crowned with the Middle East Rally Championship. The Qatari driver subsequently complained to rally’s steward committee claiming that Shaikh Khalid’s performance to be reviewed. The committee reviewed Sheikh Khalid’s performance and found it to be fair and comply with the rules of the Middle East Rally and therefore declared him the winner.
However, The Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) complained on the Qatari driver’s behalf to the FIA International Court of Appeal (ICA), where the ICA reversed the stewards committee’s original decision and declared Al Attiyah winner of Dubai International Rally and Middle East Rally Championship.
Saleh Alobeidli, ADR’s legal consultant who filed the case on January 1, commented: “We were surprised by the decision of ICA that contradicted the stewards’ decision which was about a pure technical dispute. It is rarely for the stewards’ decision to be overruled.
“Furthermore as per FIA rules, the ICA does not have jurisdiction over judgements rendered by the stewards without the consent of all the parties involved which was not the case here. Therefore, it’s naturally for us to take this matter to the higher level of justice and therefore appeal the decision at CAS, the world’s top sports court. It is worth noting that most of international sports federations recognise CAS including the International Olympic Committee, International Automobile Federation FIA, International Football Association of Football FIFA and many others.”
