Cole fails with fine appeal

Ashley Cole has failed with an appeal against his £75,000 fine imposed on him by the Premier League for talks he had with Chelsea.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport [CAS], based in Lausanne, has ruled that they do not have jurisdiction on the matter as they are not referred to within the Premier League [FAPL] regulations, meaning that Cole cannot ask them to rule on the matter.

"The CAS Panel noted that the FAPL regulations do not contain any reference to a right of appeal to the CAS," said a CAS statement.

"On the contrary, the same regulations state that the decisions of the appeal board shall be final.

"The fact that the Fifa statutes do allow appeals to the CAS against decisions rendered by national federations or leagues is not sufficient to establish the jurisdiction of the CAS if there is no direct reference to CAS arbitration in the regulations of the body whose decision is being appealed against.

"Consequently, as there was no specific agreement between the parties to submit this matter to the CAS, the panel has declined jurisdiction.

"As this decision terminates the arbitration procedure, the sanction imposed by the FAPL Appeal Board on Ashley Cole shall stand."

Cole was handed a £100,000 fine - reduced to £75,000 on appeal - in August after he was found guilty of breaching Premier League rules.

In the same case, Chelsea were fined £300,000 and their coach Jose Mourinho also had to pay £75,000 after his intial £200,000 fine was again reduced on appeal - neither The Blues nor their manager opted to try and take the matter further.