Gibraltar Football Association v UEFA

UEFA's grant of full membership to the GFA on 24 May 2013 is the successful culmination of a decade long struggle including four CAS cases in which Michael Beloff QC, leading Adam Lewis QC represented the GFA.  The GFA complied with UEFA's admission criteria in 1999, but did not comply with changed criteria, which included that an applicant come from a country recognized by the UN, introduced after GFA 's application.  CAS initially ruled that the admission criteria could not be changed retrospectively, and that since there were pre-existing and continuing members that also did not satisfy the new criteria, the GFA's application fell to be considered by reference to the criteria at the time of its application.  The subsequent CAS cases dealt with the obligations upon UEFA in carrying out CAS's direction, and whether subsequent changes in circumstances affected the position.