CAS 2013/A/3047 FC Zenit St. Petersburg v. Russian Football Union (RFU)

Date of the decision: 2013-10-07

Arbitrator(s): Patrick Lafranchi Ulrich Haas José Juan Pintó Sala

Security obligations of a home club and strict liability of a club for its supporters’ behaviour are two different elements which can lead to different sanctions. The fact that the home club failed to fulfil some of its order and security obligations, for which it was sanctioned, does not prevent the application of the strict liability principle of the visitor’s club for its supporters’ behaviour.

Facts/Procedure

On 17 November 2012, FC Zenit St. Petersburg (the Club) played a match against FC Dynamo at Khimki Arena. The Khimki Arena is the stadium where FC Dynamo plays its home matches in the Russian Football Premier League. For years, Sector B of the stands of the Khimki Arena has been allocated to the fans of the visiting team. Sector B has a capacity of approximately 2,600 people.

In the course of the preparation of the match, issues arose regarding the allocation of tickets to the visiting team (the Club) by the home team (FC Dynamo).

In the 37^th minute of the match, a pyrotechnic device hit the goalkeeper of FC Dynamo, Anton Shunin, who was playing, at that time, in front of Sector B. The pyrotechnic device hit the leg of Mr Shunin and exploded right in front of him, causing a cornea burn of both eyes. Subsequently, Mr Shunin...

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