Inadmissibility: CAS 2024/A/10680 Diósgyőr Futball Club Kft. v. Sergey Kuznetsov & FIFA

CAS 2024/A/10680: Diósgyőr Futball Club Kft. v. Sergey Kuznetsov & FIFA

Date of the decision: 2025-09-08

Arbitrator(s): Lars Hilliger

Once an email enters a party’s spam folder, it enters its “sphere of control”. Failure to monitor the spam folder constitutes negligence, and notification is deemed adequate under CAS jurisprudence. Therefore, it constitutes a valid notification to a party, which is responsible for any resulting procedural disadvantage.

Facts and Procedure

On 24 August 2022, Diósgyőr Futball Club Kft. (Club), a professional football club based in Miskolc, Hungary, and Sergey Kuznetsov (Coach), a professional football coach holding Hungarian and Ukrainian nationality, concluded an employment contract (Employment Contract) valid until 30 June 2025. The Coach was appointed as the Club’s first-team head coach.

In May 2023, the parties mutually agreed to amend certain terms of the Employment Contract. On 31 January 2024, the Club unilaterally terminated the contract.

On 28 February 2024, the Coach lodged a claim before the FIFA Players’ Status Chamber (FIFA PSC), seeking an amount, plus 5% interest p.a. from 31 January 2024, as compensation for breach of contract.

On 29 March 2024, after the club failed to reply, the Single Judge of the FIFA PSC...

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