The Norwegian club Brann have won a landmark freedom of expression case with the Court of Arbitration For Sport (Cas) ruling that Uefa should not have punished them for fans singing “Uefa mafia” or displaying banners with the same message at Women’s Champions League games.
The European footballing body fined Brann on two separate occasions in 2024 with a third case pending. Uefa argued that the incidents were a breach of its regulations, which make clubs responsible for “offensive statements of a provocative nature” from the stands.
Related: Dear Uefa, why have we been fined €5,000 for ‘Uefa mafia’ chants?
Brann took the first two cases to Uefa’s appeals committee. The first one was rejected so in the autumn of 2024 Brann took the case to Cas, who on 31 March ruled in favour of the Norwegian club. Its written reasons will be released this week.
“We are very pleased with the ruling from Cas,” the president of Brann, Aslak Sverdrup, said. “It’s not every day a club from Norway moves all of football Europe, but today we actually do. In a world where freedom of speech is under attack, this is an important and correct ruling.”
“SK Brann wish to thank those who have contributed to this case, especially Jan Magne Isaksen and Erlend Aarlien, our two lawyers, who have been solid throughout the entire process. We also wish to thank the supporter leader Erlend Vågane for the good co-operation, and our own football president Lise Klaveness for facilitating the meeting in Nyon and for being a clear voice in the debate. We also thank Uefa’s administration for good dialogue in Nyon and London prior to the case.”
Brann have argued that the message “Uefa Mafia” is a humorous and power-critical statement that is well within the limits of freedom of expression. Brann also believe that meeting criticism or satire of powerful organisations such as Uefa with sanctions is fundamentally problematic.
Uefa’s view has been that the freedom of expression under the European Convention on Human Rights does not count in this case and that “Uefa Mafia” must be interpreted as factual allegations that the organisation and its management and employees are part of an organised criminal organisation. This is offensive and provocative, according to Uefa.
Cas, however, said that the question of whether a statement is offensive or provocative must be interpreted in light of the actual context. Cas also agreed with Brann that Uefa’s disciplinary regulations must be interpreted in light of fundamental human rights such as freedom of expression. Brann have therefore been acquitted of paying the fines to Uefa.
Cas added that the use of “Uefa Mafia” would not be acceptable in all cases but that it must be interpreted in the context of that statement being made and that Uefa must prove that any use of the slogan is offensive and provocative in the context.
