CEDH · CASELAW;JUDGMENTS;CHAMBER;ENG — 28 janvier 2020

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padding-right:5.03pt; padding-left:5.03pt; vertical-align:top; background-color:#e8e8e8 } .s68C61937 { border-right:0.75pt solid #5f5f5f; border-left:0.75pt solid #5f5f5f; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #5f5f5f; padding-right:5.03pt; padding-left:5.03pt; vertical-align:top; background-color:#e8e8e8 }   SECOND SECTION CASE OF ALİ RIZA AND OTHERS v. TURKEY (Applications nos. 30226/10 and 4 others)     JUDGMENT   Art 6 § 1 (civil) • Independent and impartial tribunal   • Structural deficiencies of the Arbitration Committee of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) on account of vast powers given to the Board of Directors over its organisation and operation and lack of adequate safeguards protecting its members against outside pressures • Football clubs represented better than players or referees in the governing bodies of the TFF Art 46 • Execution of judgements • Need for general measures aimed at reforming the system of settlement of football disputes under the auspices of the TFF   STRASBOURG 28 January 2020   FINAL   22/06/2020   This judgment has become final under Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of Ali Rıza and Others v. Turkey, The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:   Robert Spano, President,   Marko Bošnjak,   Valeriu Griţco,   Egidijus Kūris,   Ivana Jelić,   Arnfinn Bårdsen,   Saadet Yüksel, judges, and Stanley Naismith, Section Registrar, Having deliberated in private on 10 December 2019, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date: PROCEDURE 1.     The case originated in five applications (nos.   30226/10, 17880/11, 17887/11, 17891/11 and 5506/16) against the Republic of Turkey lodged with the Court under Article   34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by Mr   Ömer Kerim Ali Rıza, who has dual British and Turkish citizenship, and four Turkish nationals, Mr Fatih Arslan, Mr Şaban Serin, Mr Mehmet Erhan Berber and Mr Serkan Akal, on 20 April 2010, 29 December 2010 and 11   January 2016 respectively. 2.     The first applicant was first represented by Mr S. Bezen, a lawyer practising in Istanbul and, following his resignation, by Mr L. Valloni, a lawyer practising in Zürich. The second, third and fourth applicants were represented by Mr   A.   Soydan, and the fifth applicant was represented by Mr   Z. Edebali, both lawyers practising in Istanbul. 3.     The Turkish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent. 4.     All five applicants complained that the proceedings before the legal committees of the Turkish Football Federation ( Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu – “the TFF”) had not satisfied the requirements of independence and impartiality under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention. Except for the first applicant, they further complained under the same Article that the proceedings had not been fair, referring to various procedural shortcomings. The second, third and fourth applicants also complained that the proceedings had infringed their right to peaceful enjoyment of possessions within the meaning of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention taken alone and in conjunction with Article 13 of the Convention. 5.     Notice of the above complaints was given to the Government on 6   February and 26 April 2018 respectively, and the remainder of the applications was declared inadmissible pursuant to Rule   54   §   3 of the Rules of Court. 6.     The United Kingdom Government, who were informed of application no.   30226/10, did not exercise their right to intervene in the proceedings (Article 36 § 1 of the Convention). THE FACTS THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASES 7.     The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties and as they appear from the documents submitted by them, may be summarised as follows. Facts concerning application no. 30226/10 Background to the dispute 8.     At the time of the events giving rise to the present application, the applicant was a professional football player. 9.     The applicant and Trabzonspor Kulübü Derneği (“the Club”), a professional football club in the top Turkish professional league, signed an undated employment contract effective from 17 January 2006 until 30 June 2008. The contract was drafted in English and specified, among other things, the amounts payable to the applicant. 10.     The Government submitted that the applicant and the Club had also entered into a standard employment contract ( tek tip sözleşme ) in Turkish on 18 January 2006, which had been certified by a notary public in Trabzon. The applicant, however, categorically denied before the domestic authorities and the Court entering into such a contract and claimed that he had not appeared before the notary. 11.     On 4 January 2008 the applicant left the Club and returned to England, his home country. The next day Mr J. Riza, his agent, informed the Club by fax that the Club had breached the terms of the contract and therefore his client would no longer be playing for it. 12.     By decisions of 8 and 14 January 2008, the board of the Club decided to fine the applicant a total of 184,000 Turkish liras   (TRY) (equivalent to approximately 109,523 Euros   (EUR) at the material time) for leaving the Club without notice, missing training sessions without permission and failing to return to the Club. The Club gave the applicant notice of these decisions through a notary on 14 and 15 January 2008 respectively. 13.     On 18 January 2008 the applicant filed a witness statement with FIFA (the Fédération internationale de football association ). He claimed before the Dispute Resolution Chamber of FIFA that the Club had repeatedly defaulted on its payment obligations under the contract and that certain payments had been made with delays of more than four months. The Club had given him post-dated cheques in exchange for some of the payments, put pressure on him to accept those cheques as full payment and made him sign documents evidencing receipt of payment. He further claimed that the Club had asked him to make “donations” for charitable purposes but that he had never been given any proof of those donations. He also complained that the Club had put psychological pressure on him by forcing him to train with the youth team and not selecting him for the senior team. Lastly, he claimed that he had been given a severe training programme which had made it impossible for him to spend time with his family. 14.     On 8 April 2008 the applicant’s representative sent a written notice of termination to the Club and the TFF declaring that the applicant was terminating the contract for just cause because his salary for the month of March had not been paid. It further stipulated that the situation in which he had been placed had made it impossible for him to continue playing for the Club. Proceedings before the TFF 15.     On 16 May 2008 the Club lodged an application with the Dispute Resolution Committee of the TFF ( Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu Uyuşmazlık Çözüm Kurulu – “the DRC”) against the applicant, seeking damages in the amount of TRY   291,973 (equivalent to approximately EUR   153,670 at the material time) for wrongful termination of the contract, payment of the fines it had issued and the imposition of a transfer ban on account of his breach of the provisions of the Professional Football and Transfer Directive, as in force at the material time (“the former Transfer Directive”), governing termination of contracts. 16.     On 20 May 2008 the applicant submitted his defence and counterclaims to the DRC. He requested the DRC to order the Club to pay his salary arrears for the months of January, February, March and April 2008, his overdue match appearance fees from the first half of the season 2007/8, and the match appearance fees he would have been paid until the end of his contract had it not been terminated. 17.     On 2 December 2008 the DRC dismissed the applicant’s claims and partially granted the Club’s claims. It held that the applicant had wrongfully terminated his contract and therefore ordered him to pay TRY   94,357.95 (equivalent to approximately EUR   46,711 on the date of the decision) in damages for wrongful termination and a fine of TRY   139,022.80 (equivalent to approximately EUR   68,822 on the date of the decision). It also suspended his ability to sign for another club for four months for having wrongfully terminated his contract with the Club in breach of the former Transfer Directive. 18.     On 22 January 2009 the applicant lodged an objection against the DRC’s decision of 2 December 2008 with the Arbitration Committee of the TFF ( Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu Tahkim Kurulu – “the Arbitration Committee”). 19.     By a decision of 16 April 2009, the Arbitration Committee partly allowed the applicant’s objection. It upheld the DRC’s finding that he had wrongfully terminated the contract. However, it held that the Club had also failed to terminate the contract within the period prescribed by the former Transfer Directive and, referring to the amounts owed to the applicant under the contract, reduced the amount he had to pay to TRY 129,353.38 (equivalent to approximately EUR   61,596 on the date of the decision). Lastly, it annulled the sporting sanction imposed on him. 20.     The applicant was served with the Arbitration Committee’s decision on 21 October 2009. The law in force at the material time provided that the Arbitration Committee’s decisions were final and binding and could not be reviewed by the ordinary courts (see paragraph 102 below). Proceedings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport 21.     On 11 November 2009 the applicant applied to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (“the CAS”) against the Arbitration Committee’s decision of 16 April 2009. 22.     By a decision of 10 June 2010, the CAS declared the application inadmissible for lack of jurisdiction. It held that the dispute between the applicant and the Club had no international element and therefore did not fall within its competence. 23.     On 9 July 2010 the applicant appealed to the Swiss Federal Court, seeking the annulment of the decision of the CAS. By a decision of 19 April 2011, the Swiss Federal Court dismissed the appeal. 24.     On 11 November 2011 the applicant lodged an application with the Court against Switzerland (application no. 74989/11) complaining under Article 6 about the proceedings before the CAS and the Swiss Federal Court (see paragraph 142 below). Facts concerning applications nos. 17880/11, 17887/11 and 17891/11 Background to the dispute 25.     The applicants are amateur football players who played at the material time for İçmeler Belediyespor Kulübü, an amateur football club which was in the Muğla super amateur league. 26.     In the final weeks of the season 2009/10, İçmeler Belediyespor and another team, Yeni Milasspor, were competing against each other to win the league championship and be promoted to the upper league. 27.     On 14 March 2010 İçmeler Belediyespor, the applicants’ team, had a match with Armutalan Belediyespor, while Yeni Milasspor faced Bodrumspor. Since İçmeler Belediyespor and Yeni Milasspor were close on points, both matches were scheduled to start at the same time. However, on the actual day, the match between İçmeler Belediyespor and Armutalan Belediyespor (“the Match”) started with a fifteen-minute delay because the previous match played in the same stadium had finished fifteen minutes late. Moreover, ten minutes of injury time were added to the first half of the Match as one of the players of the opposing team had been seriously injured. As a result, by the time the match between Yeni Milasspor and Bodrumspor finished, the Match was still going on. In the seventy-fifth minute, when it was announced that Bodrumspor had beaten Yeni Milasspor, the applicants’ team had a two-goal lead against their opponents. Following the announcement, they scored three additional goals and won the Match 6-1, which put them ahead of Yeni Milasspor on goal difference. Proceedings before the TFF 28.     After the Match was over, Yeni Milasspor and another club competing in the same league, Dalyan Belediyespor, lodged a complaint with the TFF alleging that the Match had been unlawfully fixed. 29.     By a letter of 8 April 2010 the General Secretariat of the TFF referred the complaint about the Match to the Ethics Committee of the TFF ( Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu Etik Kurulu – “the Ethics Committee”). 30.     By a decision of 28 April 2010, the Ethics Committee found that players of İçmeler Belediyespor and Armutalan Belediyespor had acted in a way that constituted “match ‑ fixing” ( hatır şikesi ) after the result of the match between Yeni Milasspor and Bodrumspor had been announced. It noted that, following the announcement, the players of Armutalan Belediyespor had intentionally given the ball to the players of İçmeler Belediyespor and had put up no defence in order to allow additional goals be scored against them. 31.     The matter was subsequently referred to the Amateur Football Disciplinary Committee of the TFF ( Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu Amatör Futbol Disiplin Kurulu – “the AFDC”) to decide whether the players and coaches of the teams had committed the offence of “match-fixing” as per the findings of the Ethics Committee. 32.     By a letter of 17 May 2010 the AFDC asked the applicants to file their defence against the match-fixing allegations within forty-eight hours. 33.     On 18 May 2010 the applicants filed their written defence submissions. They unequivocally denied the accusation of match-fixing and submitted that all they had done was to score goals as the opposing team had refused to defend their goal due to their frustration with the referee’s decisions. 34.     On 26 May 2010 the AFDC unanimously found that the applicants had committed the disciplinary offence of “influencing the match result” and banned them from participating in any football-related activity for a year pursuant to Article 55 of the former Football Disciplinary Directive (“the former Disciplinary Directive”). 35.     On 3 June 2010 the applicants lodged an objection against the decision of the AFDC with the Arbitration Committee. They argued that there was no evidence to show their involvement in a match-fixing scheme and that they had been punished on the basis of a mistaken assumption. They also asked the Arbitration Committee to hold a hearing. 36.     By a decision of 1 July 2010, the Arbitration Committee, after hearing the applicants, the referee, the assistant referees and the observer of the Match, unanimously dismissed the applicants’ objection and upheld the AFDC’s decision of 26 May 2010. The Arbitration Committee’s short decision was published on the TFF’s website. 37.     On 23 December 2010 the third applicant asked the Arbitration Committee to provide him with a copy of its reasoned decision. He claimed before the Court that the TFF had responded to his request by stating that the reasoned decision had not yet been drafted. The Government informed the Court that the reasoned decision could not be located in the archives of the Arbitration Committee. Facts concerning application no. 5506/16 Background to the dispute 38.     The applicant is a football referee who was a top-level assistant referee ( üst klasman yardımcı hakem ) between 1 July 2000 and 23 July 2015. Under the TFF rules, top-level assistant referees have the right to referee matches in the top two professional football leagues. 39.     By a decision of 21 July 2015, the Central Referee Committee of the TFF ( Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu Merkez Hakem Kurulu – “the CRC”) specified the criteria used to determine the levels of referees in accordance with the Central Referee Committee Directive in force at the material time (“the former CRC Directive”). On that basis, it drew up a list of the top ‑ level assistant referees for the season 2015/16, which included the names of seventy top-ranking assistant referees. The applicant was, however, ranked at seventy-eight out of eighty-three assistant referees in that list, which resulted in his downgrading to the level of “provincial referee” for the season 2015/16. Proceedings before the TFF 40.     On 27 July 2015 the applicant lodged an objection against the CRC’s decision to downgrade him to provincial referee level with the Arbitration Committee, seeking his reinstatement as a top-level assistant referee. Relying on the former CRC Directive, in force at the time of the CRC’s decision, he argued that the number of top-level assistant referees had to be twice the number of top-level referees and that as thirty-nine referees had been selected as top-level referees for the season 2015/16, the number of top-level assistant referees had to be seventy-eight. The applicant contended that the CRC’s decision to limit the number of top-level assistant referees to seventy and exclude him from the list of top ‑ level assistant referees had been contrary to the former CRC Directive. In his view, the CRC had prepared the list by using the 10% margin granted to it under the previous version, which had been repealed and replaced with the former CRC Directive, which entered into force on 11 July 2014. 41.     On 29 July 2015 the applicant asked the Arbitration Committee to hold a hearing and allow him to comment on the submissions of the CRC. 42.     On 30 July 2015 the Arbitration Committee decided that there was no compelling reason to hold a hearing and dismissed the applicant’s objection. It held that the decision whether or not to include an assistant referee in the list of top-level assistant referees belonged exclusively to the CRC. Determining the number of top-level assistant referees for any given season was also a matter which fell within the CRC’s margin of appreciation. Contrary to what the applicant argued, the former CRC Directive did not in any way limit the CRC’s discretion to select only those referees who were most fit for the position. In particular, the expression “ kadar ” (“up to”) referred to in the former CRC Directive did not mean that the number of top-level assistant referees had to be exactly twice the number of top-level referees. Instead, the said provision set the maximum number of top-level assistant referees and gave the CRC the ability to reduce the number if it so wished. Accordingly, the CRC had been well within its rights to limit the number of top-level assistant referees to only seventy, and the applicant’s downgrading to the level of “provincial referee” had been in accordance with the law and procedure. 43.     On 19 August 2015 the applicant lodged a fresh application with the Arbitration Committee, requesting the reopening of the proceedings and a review of its decision. He reiterated his argument that the wording of the former CRC Directive left no room for interpretation by unequivocally setting out the number of top-level assistant referees. He added that, in any event, the CRC could only downgrade a referee on the limited grounds provided in the former CRC Directive, none of which had applied in his case. He also asked the Arbitration Committee to hold a hearing before it delivered its decision. 44.     By a decision of 20 August 2015, the Arbitration Committee summarily dismissed the applicant’s request for reopening and a hearing, holding that there were no grounds to justify the reopening of the proceedings. RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW AND PRACTICE Turkish Football Federation 45.     The TFF was established in 1923 to govern football in Turkey. As the sport’s national federation, it is the highest authority regulating and overseeing all aspects of professional and amateur football in the country. It has been a member of FIFA since 1923 and UEFA (the Union of European Football Associations) since 1962. 46.     By operation of law, the TFF is an autonomous entity which has a separate legal personality and is governed by private-law principles. Its headquarters are in Istanbul. 47.     The legal framework governing the TFF has evolved significantly over the course of time. At the time of the proceedings to which the first applicant was party, Law no. 3813 of 17 June 1992 on the Establishment and Duties of the Turkish Football Federation (“the former TFF Law”), as amended by Law no. 5719 of 29 November 2007 (“Law no. 5719”), was in force. On 16 May 2009 Law no. 5894 of 5 May 2009 on the Establishment and Duties of the Turkish Football Federation (“the TFF Law”) took effect, thus repealing and replacing the former TFF Law. The TFF Law was in force at the time of the proceedings to which the remaining applicants were parties. 48.     Unlike its predecessor, the TFF Law only provides a broad legal framework. The detailed provisions governing the TFF’s bodies are set out in the statutes of the TFF (“the TFF Statutes”), adopted on 3 June 2008. The provisions of the TFF Statutes, which entered into force simultaneously with the TFF Law and have been amended from time to time, are complemented by the directives ( talimat ) issued by the Board of Directors. 49.     A summary of the key provisions of the previous and current TFF legal frameworks pertaining to the composition, powers and manner of appointment of the relevant bodies of the TFF and administration and discipline of football activities is provided below. Legal framework governing the Turkish Football Federation’s bodies 50.     The main bodies of the TFF which make up its central organisation are the Congress ( Genel Kurul ), the Board of Directors ( Yönetim Kurulu ) and the legal committees ( hukuk kurulları ) (Article 4 of the former TFF Law and the TFF Law and Article 20 of the TFF Statutes). 51 .     The legal committees are structured as a two-tier system. The main first ‑ instance legal committees ( ilk derece hukuk kurulları ) of the TFF are the DRC, the Disciplinary Committees ( Disiplin Kurulları ) and the Ethics Committee (Article 5 of the TFF Law and Article 54 of the TFF Statutes). 52.     The Arbitration Committee is the TFF’s highest legal committee. It hears objections lodged against the decisions of first-instance legal committees and settles football-related disputes falling within its jurisdiction as the appellate body (Article 6 of the TFF Law and Article 54 of the TFF Statutes). 53.     Neither the first-instance legal committees nor the Arbitration Committee have a legal personality or a budget separate from the TFF. They are considered an integral part of the TFF’s central organisation and use the TFF’s staff for secretarial and administrative work. Until 17 April 2019, they were located in the same building as the TFF’s headquarters. 54.     The TFF also has consultancy and administrative units, which consist of the General Secretariat and the standing committees ( yan kurullar ), with the CRC being one of the standing committees (Article 43 of the TFF Statutes). (a)    Congress 55.     The Congress is the main decision-making authority of the TFF. It has the power to adopt and alter the TFF Statutes, which are the main piece of secondary legislation governing the functioning of the TFF’s bodies and are published in the Official Gazette. It also elects the fourteen members of the Board of Directors and the president of the TFF ( Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu Başkanı – “the President”), who acts as the chairman of the Board of Directors. The quorum of the Congress consists of the simple majority of the delegates, and decisions are taken with more than half of the votes of the delegates present at the general assembly meeting (Article 6 of the former TFF Law and Articles 21 to 25 of the TFF Statutes). (i)   Rules governing the composition of the Congress under the former TFF Law 56 .     Article 5 of the former TFF Law provided that the following individuals were eligible to become members of the Congress and participate and vote in the general assembly meeting, which took place every four years: (a)   the chairman of each club in the top Turkish professional football league and six delegates chosen by their board of directors; (b)   the chairman of each club in the Turkish professional first league and one delegate chosen by their board of directors; (c)   the chairman of each club in the groups of the Turkish professional second league; (d)   the chairman of the top five ranking clubs in each group of the Turkish professional third league; (e)   individuals who had served as president of the TFF for more than two years; (f)   the president of the National Olympic Committee and one delegate chosen by its board of directors; (g)   Turkish citizens who had actively served for at least five years on the Executive Committees of FIFA and UEFA; (h)   Turkish citizens who had been coaches of the national team for at least two years; (ı)   football players who had been capped for the senior national team at least seventy-five times and who had retired more than six months prior to the date of the general assembly meeting; (i)   the president of the Professional Footballers Association ( Profesyonel Futbolcular Derneği ); (j)   the general president of the Amateur Sports Clubs Confederation of Turkey ( Türkiye Amatör Spor Kulüpleri Konfederasyonu ) and four delegates chosen by its board of directors; (k)   the president of the Football Coaches Association of Turkey ( Türkiye Futbol Antrenörleri Derneği ); (l)   retired referees who had refereed at least the finals in the Olympic, world and continental football federation championships in adult categories and at least the semi-finals in the European championships; (m)   one additional delegate from each club which had won the top Turkish professional football league; (n)   the presidents of disabled sports federations which had football in the scope of their activities; and (o)   the general president of the Active Football Referees and Observers Association of Turkey ( Türkiye Faal Futbol Hakemleri ve Gözlemcileri Derneği ). (ii)   Current rules governing the composition of the Congress 57.     Article 9 of the TFF Statutes provides that the following entities or individuals are eligible to become members of the TFF: (a)   clubs in the Turkish professional football leagues; (b)   the Amateur Sports Clubs Confederation of Turkey; (c)   the Professional Footballers Association; (d)   the Football Coaches Association of Turkey; (e)   the Active Football Referees and Observers Association of Turkey; (f)   disabled sports federations which have football in the scope of their activities; (g)   individuals actively serving on the Executive Committees of FIFA or UEFA; (h)   individuals who have actively served on the committees of FIFA or UEFA for at least ten years; (i)   individuals who have served as president of the TFF; and (j)   other individuals accepted as members by the Congress.   58.     Article 22 of the TFF Statutes provides a list of members of the Congress. The delegates of the Congress nominated by legal person (non ‑ individual) members of the TFF are as follows:   Member of the TFF Representative in the Congress Clubs in the top Turkish professional football league The chairman and six delegates chosen by the board of each club Clubs in the Turkish professional first league The chairman and one delegate chosen by the board of each club Clubs in the Turkish professional second league The chairman of each club Clubs in the Turkish professional third league The chairman of each club Amateur Sports Clubs Confederation of Turkey The president and nine delegates chosen by the board Professional Footballers Association The president Football Coaches Association of Turkey The president Active Football Referees and Observers Association of Turkey The president (who must be retired) Disabled sports federations with football in the scope of their activities The president of each federation   59 .     Amendments made to the TFF Statutes on 29 June 2011 brought about important changes to the criteria provided in the former TFF Law to determine who among players, referees and coaches were eligible to become members of the Congress. 60 .     Article 22 of the TFF Statutes since provides that the following individuals are eligible to become members of the Congress: (a)   five individuals who are retired football players and who have been capped most for the senior national team; (b)   five individuals who have coached the national team the longest; (c)   five individuals who are retired referees and who have refereed the most matches in the UEFA Champions League, except for the qualifying rounds, or before that league was established, in the corresponding organisations. 61.     In addition, individuals actively serving on the Executive Committees of FIFA or UEFA, individuals who have actively served on the committees of FIFA or UEFA for at least ten years and former presidents of the TFF are also automatically eligible to become members of the Congress. 62.     The delegates of the Congress are entitled to participate and vote in general assembly meetings of the Congress and elect the President and the Board of Directors of the TFF. (b)    Board of Directors 63.     The Board of Directors is the TFF’s executive body, which consists of the President and fourteen members, all of whom are elected by the Congress. The President serves for a four-year term and acts as the chairman of the Board of Directors. To become the President, the prospective candidate must fulfil the conditions set out in the TFF Statutes and have the support of at least one fifth of the delegates of the Congress. The President is elected with the simple majority of the delegates present in the general assembly meeting of the Congress (Article 9 of the former TFF Law and Articles 33 and 38 of the TFF Statutes). 64.     Being a member of the Congress is not a prerequisite to becoming a member of the Board of Directors. Turkish citizens who are at least twenty ‑ five years old are eligible to sit on the Board of Directors, provided that they have not received any disciplinary sanctions from the TFF or been convicted of certain crimes (Article 33 of the TFF Statutes). 65 .     Once elected to the Board of Directors, any individual who is the chairman or a member of the board of a professional football club must resign from his or her position. Members are also precluded from sitting on any other bodies of the TFF or becoming a member of the Congress during the term of their office (Article 10 of the former TFF Law and Articles 33 and 38 of the TFF Statutes). 66.     The Board of Directors has the power to appoint some or all members of the legal committees of the TFF as well as the standing committees of the TFF, such as the CRC, upon the recommendation of the President and determine the amount of per diem , remuneration, accommodation expenses and allowances payable to members of some of those bodies (Article 10 of the former TFF Law and Article 35 of the TFF Statutes). 67.     The Board of Directors also has the power to issue and enforce directives which govern the functioning of the various bodies of the TFF as well as the administration and discipline of football (Article 10 of the former TFF Law and Article 35 of the TFF Statutes). Once adopted by the Board of Directors, the directives enter into force following their publication on the TFF’s website. 68.     Another power of the Board of Directors is to review and approve the decisions of the CRC which create legal effect and are likely to be challenged before the Arbitration Committee (Article 35 of the TFF Statutes). (c)    First-instance legal committees of the TFF (i)   Dispute Resolution Committee 69.     The DRC was established by Law no. 5719, which took effect on 4   December 2007, to review football disputes of a contractual nature as a first-instance legal committee of the TFF. 70.     At the time of the events giving rise to application no. 30226/10, Article 12/A of the former TFF Law and the former Dispute Resolution Committee Directive (“the former DRC Directive”) constituted the legal basis of the DRC. 71.     Under the former DRC Directive, the DRC was composed of a chairman and fifteen other members. Its chairman was appointed by the Board of Directors. The remaining members were nominated by the following football associations, which each had the right to nominate five members: (i) the Football Clubs Foundation ( Kulüpler Birliği Vakfı ); (ii) the Professional Footballers Association; and (iii) the Football Coaches Association of Turkey. Members of the DRC, including the chairman, had to be law graduates with at least five years’ professional experience (Article   12/A of the former TFF Law and Article 3 of the former DRC Directive). 72.     Its decisions were taken by committees of five, which consisted of the chairman, two members nominated by the Football Clubs Foundation and two members nominated by the relevant associations, depending on the subject of the dispute (Article 8 of the former DRC Directive). 73.     Objections against its decisions could be lodged with the Arbitration Committee (Article 14 of the former TFF Law and former DRC Directive). (ii)   Ethics Committee 74.     The Ethics Committee was established to protect the ethical values and brand value of Turkish football and preserve its reputation in the eyes of the public (Article 60 § 1 of the TFF Statutes). 75.     Under the TFF Statutes and the Ethics Committee Directive, which entered into force on 2 December 2009 ( Etik Kurulu Talimatı – “the Ethics Committee Directive”), the Ethics Committee is composed of a chairman, four principal and four substitute members, who are appointed by the Board of Directors upon the recommendation of the President. All members must be law graduates with at least five years’ professional experience (Article 60 § 1 of the TFF Statutes and Article 3 § 1 of the Ethics Committee Directive). 76.     The procedure before the Ethics Committee starts with a referral by the Board of Directors which must, either of its own motion or upon receipt of a complaint, refer instances of match-fixing which it considers sufficiently serious (Article 7 § 1 of the Ethics Committee Directive). 77.     Upon referral, the Ethics Committee carries out a preliminary investigation into the allegations of match-fixing. On the basis of the evidence gathered in its investigation, the Ethics Committee prepares a report which is submitted to the Board of Directors, which will then decide whether or not to refer the matter to the relevant disciplinary committee (Article 7 §§ 2 and 6 of the Ethics Committee Directive). (iii)   Disciplinary Committees 78.     The AFDC, together with the Professional Football Disciplinary Committee of the TFF ( Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu Profesyonel Futbol Disiplin Kurulu – “the PFDC”) and the provincial disciplinary committees make up the Disciplinary Committees (Article 57 of the TFF Statutes). 79.     The Football Disciplinary Directive, which entered into force on 11   August 2017 ( Futbol Disiplin Talimatı – “the Disciplinary Directive”), provides that the AFDC has power to decide on disciplinary offences committed resulting from the actions of amateur football clubs, their players, coaches, executives and other individuals, as well as referees and other officials involved in amateur football matches (Article 63 of the Disciplinary Directive). 80.     It is composed of a chairman, six principal and six substitute members, who are appointed by the Board of Directors upon the recommendation of the President. Following the amendments to the TFF Statutes, which took effect as of 15 June 2019, all members of the AFDC must be law graduates with at least five years’ professional experience (Article 57 §§ 2 to 5 of the TFF Statutes and Article   62 of the Disciplinary Directive). 81.     Objections against decisions of the AFDC can be lodged with the Arbitration Committee within seven days of receipt (Article 88 of the Disciplinary Directive). (d)    Central Referee Committee 82.     The CRC is a standing committee of the TFF whose main duty is to appoint referees and observers for official and friendly football matches. 83.     One of the main duties of the CRC is to determine the levels of professional referees. The names of those who will be appointed as referees are submitted to the Board of Directors for approval (Article 5 of the former CRC Directive). Moreover, the current CRC Directive, which entered into force on 8 May 2019 ( Merkez Hakem Kurulu Talimatı – “the CRC Directive”), expressly provides that the number of the top-level assistant referees is determined by the Board of Directors upon the recommendation of the CRC (Article 43 of the TFF Statutes and Articles 5 and 39 of the CRC Directive). 84.     The CRC is composed of one chairman and eight members, who are appointed by the Board of Directors upon the recommendation of the President. Referees who have retired at least one year prior to the date of their appointment are eligible to become members of the CRC. Three of its members, including the chairman, can be selected among individuals who have not been referees but who possess experience in the field of sports (Article 43 of the TFF Statutes and Article 3 of the CRC Directive). 85.     They are required to act independently when discharging their duties and cannot be removed from office unless they resign or withdraw from membership (Article 43 of the TFF Statutes). Except for the president and two members who serve on a special committee, members of the CRC receive a per diem in an amount determined by the Board of Directors (Article 27 of the CRC Directive). 86.     An objection against the levels of referees published by the CRC may be lodged with the Arbitration Committee within seven days of publication of the list of referees (Article 36 of the CRC Directive). (e)    Arbitration Committee 87.     The Arbitration Committee is the highest legal committee of the TFF. It is the final authority which decides on disputes falling within its jurisdiction as set out in the TFF Statutes and the relevant directives. 88.     At the time of the events giving rise to application no. 30226/10, Articles 13 and 14 of the former TFF Law set out the competence, composition and duties of the Arbitrat