The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the appeal of Horse Sport Ireland and Cian O’Connor
Press Release
4 January 2016 – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has issued its decision in the arbitration procedure between Horse Sport Ireland, the Irish rider Cian O’Connor, and the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), the international governing body for equestrian sport. The appeal filed on 11 September 2015 by Horse Sport Ireland and Cian O’Connor against the decision rendered by the FEI Appeal Committee on 22 August 2015 is dismissed and the FEI decision is confirmed.
The arbitration concerned a protest lodged by Horse Sport Ireland and Cian O’Connor following an incident during the team final at the FEI European Jumping Championships held in Aachen, Germany in August 2015, which counted as final qualifying event for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. The incident involved a member of the ground staff during O’Connor’s round. The FEI Appeal Committee’s decision of 22 August 2015 confirmed an earlier decision taken by the Ground Jury at the Aachen championships in which the protest lodged by the Irish team was dismissed and a ruling was given that the results obtained on the course that day would stand.
The CAS arbitration was conducted by a panel of CAS arbitrators: Mr Jeffrey G. Benz, USA (President), Mr Philippe Sands QC, UK, and Mr Nicholas Stewart QC, UK, who held a hearing at the CAS headquarters on 16 December 2015.
The CAS Panel has issued only its decision today, without the grounds, which will follow in the coming weeks.
