Igor Labuts, the Latvian goalkeeper who was banned from football for a year after being found guilty of match fixing while playing for Athlone Town in 2017, has succeeded in having the sanction overturned at Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The court ordered the FAI to pay Labuts, 3,000 Swiss Francs (€2,800) towards his costs. The 30-year-old, who has already served the suspension, was represented by the PFAI which was concerned over the way expert witness testimony was used to assess the player’s actions in the game, against Longford Town, that was at the heart of the case.
“I thought this day would never come,” said Labuts of the court’s decision. “It is hard to explain how personally devastating the last three years have been for me and my family. I came to Ireland with the intention of making it to the Premier Division and I hoped to put myself in the shop window with Athlone Town. I am not the best goalkeeper in the world but I thought with the right training and experience, I could improve my consistency levels and have a reasonable career in the League of Ireland. This was taken away from me by the FAI.
“I have since returned to playing futsal and I am grateful for the opportunities I have been given in that sport,” he continued. “I still hope to return to playing professional football as some point and I hope this vindication will help.”
The PFAI and its solicitor, Stuart Gilhooly, welcomed the verdict in the appeal as “outrageous”. The union said it would consider whether any further action in the case was merited.
The FAI said that it “accepts the ruling” but noted that “CAS upheld the Association’s original findings of manipulation around the Longford Town v Athlone Town fixture.
“The FAI remains committed to the fight against match fixing,” it concluded.
