What is the Field of Play Doctrine?
Regardless of the sport or the level of competition, refereeing decisions are inevitably the subject of question and complaint. Players, managers, clubs, fans, commentators, pundits and casual observers may all criticise the merits of officiating decisions – something undoubtedly made all the more prevalent by the multitude of camera angles, slow-motion replays and technology that define modern broadcast sport.
The “Field of Play” doctrine, a concept enshrined in the so-called lex sportiva and consistently applied by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (“CAS”), is based on the belief that the rules of the game, in the strict sense of the term, are not subject to judicial control. The rationale behind this “qualified immunity”[1] is twofold: (1) to ensure that match officials have the requisite authority and autonomy to make decisions, and (2) that sporting contests will be completed and thus deliver a result.
As per the 2017 CAS case of Japan Triathlon Union v International Triathlon Union[2], for the doctrine to apply, the following two conditions are needed:
- “that a decision at stake was made on the playing field by judges, referees, umpires and other officials, who are responsible for applying the rules of a particular game” and
- “that the effects of the decision are limited to the field of play.”[3]
Nonetheless, the doctrine is not absolute, meaning that field of play decisions may be disputed in narrow circumstances relating to integrity. These include instances where there is evidence of bad faith, malicious intent, fraud, bias, prejudice, arbitrariness and corruption.[4]
Hockey Club Kyiv Capitals v Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine[5]
(i) Introduction
In an Award handed down by the CAS on 20 February 2025, the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine (the “Federation”) successfully argued that the CAS had no authority to review officiating decisions. The appeal to the CAS had been brought by Hockey Club Kyiv Capitals (the “Club”) in connection with a match during the 2023/2024 Ukrainian Men’s Ice Hockey Championship season.
(ii) Factual Background
The case concerns an incident that occurred on 3 February 2024 during a match between the Club and the Hockey Club of Dnipro (“Dnipro”).
Throughout the match, several incidents occurred which resulted in both teams receiving penalties. The Club received a total of 13 penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct (including kneeing, tripping, elbowing, and roughing) which were committed by several players and their Head Coach, Vadym Shahraichuk. By contrast, Dnipro received three penalties.
With 50 minutes and 48 seconds of the match played, the Club refused to continue and instead left the ice hockey rink, the score being tied a 2-2 at the time. This decision was, according to their Head Coach, due to “unfair and one-sided refereeing.”[6]
(iii) Procedural Background
Following the match, the Club appealed to the Federation Refereeing Quality Assessment Committee (the “RQAC”), citing twelve occasions during the match where the referees failed to impose a sanction. Although the RQAC subsequently ruled that the majority of the refereeing decisions were correct, they did identify several which had been overlooked.[7]
The Disciplinary Committee of the Federation consequently initiated proceedings to determine the application of sanctions against the Club, later opting to impose disciplinary and monetary sanctions on 5 February 2024.[8]
The Club responded by filing an appeal against the Disciplinary Committee’s decision to the Appeals Committee. However, this was unanimously dismissed on 26 February 2024.
Finally, having received confirmation that they could appeal the Appeals Committee ruling to the CAS, the Club consequently filed a Statement of Appeal requesting that the CAS set aside the decision.
Arguments advanced before the CAS
(i) The Club
In seeking relief, the Appellant Club advanced five core arguments:
- That the technical defeat should not have been awarded. In supporting this argument, the Club maintained that the game had begun and so the referees had exclusive authority to determine the outcome. The Federation’s competence only extended to matches that did not take place and the referees could therefore not delegate to the Federation. The Club further submitted that the game had been stopped too soon (i.e. after only two minutes rather than 5 minutes) due to an error in the translation of the Official Rule Book on the Federation’s website.
- The violation of the principles of publicity and openness, namely that the Club had not been furnished with sufficient information about the proceedings, the receipt of statements from third parties, the hearing (including the time, place and composition of the authority), and the opportunity to renew statements and provide objections.
- The violation of the right to an effective remedy, with the Club alleging that the Federation conducted a secret proceeding which deprived the Club of an effective defence.
- The violation of ethical norms due to conflicts of interest, with the Club alleging a “direct connection between the Referee and the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the Appeals Committee.”[9]
- The violation of the right to a fair trial, namely as a result of the aforementioned arguments.
(ii) The Federation
In response, the Federation advanced nine core arguments:
- The inadmissibility of the Appeal. In advancing this argument, the Federation submitted that the CAS lacked authority relating to future issues and that the Club failed to identify the point being appealed along with the exact basis of appeal.
- The lack of interest and/or legitimacy of the Appellant. The Federation argued that the Club had neither the direct nor personal interest required to appeal certain aspects of the decisions. As part of this argument, the Federation maintained that the Club’s Head Coach should have appealed the decisions in his personal capacity and that the Club’s final league position was not impacted by the technical defeat awarded.
- The binding nature and correct application of the Federation Rules. In invoking the “chain of references”[10] principle, the Federation contended that the Club had, by participating in the championship, consented to and agreed to be bound by the rules of the Federation.
- The fair trial objection according to the de novo principle. In invoking the de novo principle[11], the Federation further contended that the Club’s submissions concerning the lack of a fair trial were immaterial and that the CAS would correct “all procedural flaws.”[12]
- The field of play doctrine. By relying on the doctrine, the Federation argued that the on-field decisions made by the referees were not reviewable by the CAS.
- The absence of any conflict of interest in earlier proceedings. In rebutting the allegation that there was a violation of ethical norms due to conflicts of interest, the Federation asserted that there was no conflict of interest or corruption. They further highlighted that such an argument had only been raised by the Club upon appeal to the CAS and could have been submitted in earlier proceedings.
- The respect of the principles of publicity and openness. Far from not being in receipt of information relating to the proceedings, the Federation considered that the Club had been made provided with the first instance decision. They submitted that they were thus “informed of the entire proceeding, including evidence and facts.”[13]
- The absence of determination of the outcome of the Match by the Referees. The Federation asserted that the technical defeat finding was a “logical sanction” rather than “an unlawful “determining of outcome””[14] after the Club departed the hockey rink.
- The troublesome widespread effect of CAS decision annulling the technical defeat. Finally, and perhaps most persuasively, the Federation highlighted that “annulling the appealed decisions would justify and legalize the abandonment of matches as a means of remedy against field of play decisions and would represent a precedent allowing clubs to abandon games if they are not in their favor.”[15]
Ruling of the CAS
The sole arbitrator, Ms Carine Dupeyron, held that jurisdiction of the CAS had been established in the case and that the Club’s appeal had been filed within the relevant time limits.
Ms Dupeyron further found that the Club’s appeal was both admissible and that the Club had a legal interest in appealing the decisions.
Moreover, Ms Dupeyron concluded that the relevant International Ice Hockey Federation and the Federation rules and regulations applied in the case, with Swiss Law and case law also applying due to the arbitration’s seat in Lausanne, Switzerland.
With regard to the match itself and in applying the Federation Rules, Ms Dupeyron reasoned that the game period had not ended when the Club departed the hockey rink and refused to continue playing. Despite ruling that the referees had applied Rule 73.2 rather than Rule 73.3[16] of the Official Rule Book 2023/24, this did not impact the ability of both the Disciplinary Committee and the Appeals Committee to examine the case.
In considering the disciplinary and financial sanctions imposed on the Club, Ms Dupeyron concluded that the Disciplinary Committee and the Appeals Committee had both the authority to impose such sanctions and to impose a technical defeat on the Club.
Finally, the Club’s submissions regarding the violation of ethical norms due to conflicts of interest did not find favour with Ms Dupeyron. She instead concluded “that the de novo appeal before the CAS cured the potential procedural flaws regarding the appealed decisions”.[17]
Therefore, Ms Dupeyron declined to allow the appeal – thus confirming the decision of the Appeals Committee of the Federation.
Impact of Ruling
The ruling serves as a timely reminder that the Field of Play doctrine will prevent sporting contestants from simply leaving the arena and appealing the decisions of officials, including in situations where appeal boards subsequently find refereeing to have overlooked inappropriate or unfair acts that occurred within matches.
Moving forwards, participants should therefore continue to be mindful of the doctrine and that it will apply save for specific circumstances relating to integrity. If such circumstances are not apparent, then participants are walking on thin ice when choosing to abandon matches prematurely and seeking subsequent judicial relief. As the case demonstrates, the likelihood is that the doctrine will be upheld, certainly before a CAS tribunal, and participants will suffer the regulatory consequences of their abandonment.
The full CAS Award is available here: CAS 2024/A/10449 Hockey Club Kyiv Capitals v. Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine
[1] CAS OG 02/2007 Korean Olympic Committee v. International Skating Union; 2015/A/4208 Horse Sport Ireland & Cian O’Connor v. FEI.
[2] CAS 2017/A/5373.
[3] Ibid [Paragraph 51].
[4] For example, see the following cases: CAS 2004/A/727 Vanderlei De Lima & Brazilian Olympic Committee (BOC) v. International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), CAS 2008/A/1641 Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee (NAOC) v. International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) & United States Olympic Committee (USOC), Aino-Kaisa Saarinen & Finnish Ski Association v. Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS) CAS 2010/A/2090, CAS 2015/A/4208 Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) & Cian O’Connor v. Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI).
[5] CAS 2024/A/10449.
[6] [Paragraph 9].
[7] These overlooked instances included “a tripping, a blocking, a player interference, and a hand-checking on behalf of the opponent team” [Paragraph 11].
[8] These included disciplinary and monetary sanctions on the Club; imposing a technical defeat in the match on the Club / awarding a technical victory to Dnipro; warning the Club that repeated refusal to continue upcoming matches will result in automatic exclusion from the Ukrainian Men’s Ice Hockey Championship; imposing two disciplinary sanctions on the Club’s player Pavlo Taran; imposing a disciplinary sanction on the Club’s player Serhii Chernenko; obligating the Club’s Head Coach Vadym Shahraichuk to familiarise himself and the players with the Federation’s golden rules; and warning the Head Coach that he would receive one-match suspensions for each major, disciplinary or game misconduct penalty of the Club’s players.
[9] [Paragraph 85].
[10] [Paragraph 97].
[11]De novo refers to the standard of review employed by an appellate court, with the appellate court reviewing the decision of a lower court as if the lower court had not rendered a decision.
[12] [Paragraph 103].
[13] [Paragraph 112].
[14] [Paragraph 114].
[15] [Paragraph 115].
[16] Rule 73.2 permits the team refusing to play only 15 seconds to resume the match when already on the ice, whereas Rule 73.3 permits 5 minutes for the team to return to the ice.
[17] [Paragraph 179].
Jonathan Mason also contributed to this article.