FIFA appeals Yves Jean-Bart ruling

World football's governing body, FIFA, says it has appealed against a verdict overturning Yves Jean-Bart's lifetime ban from football.

Last month, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in favor of Jean-Bart, the former president of the Haitian Football Federation (FHF), after he had taken his case to the Swiss-based organization, which is the world's highest sports court.

FIFA needed to have lodged an appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal within 30 days of being notified of the verdict.

"After having carefully analyzed the CAS award, FIFA is concerned that this award contains a number of very serious procedural and substantive flaws, including the CAS Panel's failure to evaluate key pieces of evidence that were offered by FIFA," the governing body wrote in a statement.

Jean-Bart, nicknamed Dadou, had been found guilty of sexually abusing and harassing young female footballers in Haiti by FIFA's ethics committee in November 2020. His behavior was described as "simply inexcusable, a disgrace for any football official," and he was banned from the sport for life. But CAS annulled that decision, citing "insufficient evidence."

FIFA said it was requesting an annulment of the CAS verdict and for the case to be referred back to the court.

It added that it remained "strongly committed to protecting victims of sexual abuse in football and will continue to apply 'zero tolerance' to any such acts perpetrated by persons falling under its jurisdiction."

Calling FIFA's appeal "confounding," Claude Ramoni, a lawyer for Jean-Bart, said: "As the facts have consistently shown, Dr. Jean-Bart adamantly maintains his innocence and we trust that the Swiss Federal Tribunal will dismiss FIFA's appeal and confirm the CAS award issued by three independent, respected, and experienced CAS arbitrators."

Why the Jean-Bart ban was overtuned

Outlining the full reasoning for its verdict last month, CAS said that Jean-Bart had brought 66 witnesses to support his case, including 21 who were heard in person, writing: "These numerous and concordant oral and written testimonies established the nonexistence of sexual abuse allegedly committed on young players by Yves Jean-Bart."

CAS said that just one alleged victim had appeared at the hearing, while other witnesses put forward by FIFA "had only heard about sexual abuse of players, thus contradicting their initial written testimonies. None of the testimonies [...] were sufficiently precise and convincing to establish Yves Jean-Bart's guilt."

CAS also claimed that it had guaranteed the protection of witnesses "at all times," stating: "All witnesses who wished to do so were able to testify from a secure and secret location, without video, by encrypted telephone, with a voice modified by distortion, and in the presence of a trusted person from CAS."

However, global players' union FIFPRO and Human Rights Watch, both of which had helped FIFA gather evidence, contradicted CAS's claim that it had offered those measures to hide the identity of witnesses, alleging many of them were threatened into silence.

"There was no voice distortion at the CAS hearing, and survivors and potential witnesses were asked to testify without meaningful protection for their identities. Understandably, many did not agree," HRW said in a statement last month, in which it called on FIFA to appeal the decision.

Grounds for appeal

Under CAS rules, appeals to the Swiss Federal Tribunal (Switzerland's highest court) are only allowed on a "very limited number of grounds," usually procedural, including "incompatibility with public policy" — the principles that shape society's laws.

One legal source told DW that if CAS had rejected protective measures for a witness, then that would be a reason to appeal.

In the aftermath of the CAS verdict, Jean-Bart held a virtual press conference to announce he was reclaiming his position as head of the Haitian Football Federation. In comments that appear to suggest his legal troubles aren't over, he added: "My enemies [...] continue to try to beat me by all means."

A so-called normalization committee, which FIFA established in 2020 to restore order to the FHF, is still running the federation and must remain in place until November of this year. Only then can new elections be held, including for the position of president.

HRW's Minky Worden told DW that FIFA should now change its rules to ensure that Jean-Bart can never run as president again.

"FIFA appealing the CAS decision clearing Jean-Bart is a small but important victory for survivors in football," she said.

"FIFA created the conditions which brought Jean-Bart to power, and he used that power to set up a system of exploitation in Haiti's national federation. In addition to the CAS appeal, which Jean-Bart can still manipulate, FIFA can, and should, bar him and his henchmen from all leadership positions on the basis of the extensive abuse testimonies collected by FIFPRO and Human Rights Watch."

Meanwhile, there has been no conclusion to the criminal case against Jean-Bart in Haiti. It is also understood that the US Department of Justice is investigating him on charges of human trafficking and visa fraud.

Edited by Matt Ford