“I like playing in Brossard, because it’s my city. I have been playing in this club since I was 4 years old. […] Unfortunately we cannot continue to play in a regional club like ours. So we want to have the opportunity to continue playing together at a higher level. »
This request from 14-year-old soccer players, expressed in a letter recently sent to the Sport Dispute Resolution Center of Canada (SDRCC), has just been granted. The Association de soccer de Brossard (ASB) won its case in court against Canada Soccer, which refused to grant it the license required to be admitted to the main Quebec development league for players aged 13 to 17. years.
The outcome – provisional, it should be specified – of this legal fight, at the end of February, opens the way to the challenge by other teams in the province of similar refusals on the part of the national federation.
The source of the dispute dates back to 2019, the year Canada Soccer introduced a new program: National Youth Club Recognition. In Quebec, the program allows recognized clubs to play in the Premier Ligue de Soccer Juvénile (PLSJQ), the highest level of amateur soccer competition in the province for players aged 13 to 17.
In August 2021, the ASB began the process to obtain the license, a process which involves the in-depth examination of 142 criteria. Fifteen months later, on December 12, 2022, Canada Soccer’s verdict fell: despite an overall score of 90% and a perfect score for 112 of the 142 criteria assessed, the SBA failed to obtain National Recognition.
A misunderstood refusal
Stunned, the president of the SBA, Joulia Maistrenko, wrote to Canada Soccer for more explanations. Her demands went unheeded, she said.
It shouldn’t be so hard [de demander des explications]. Associations should be able to question without fear of intimidation or backlash.
Joulia Maistrenko, President of AS Brossard
Canada Soccer did not respond to our multiple interview requests.
At the time of the refusal, there is only one month left before the deadline for the registration of clubs in the PLSJQ. Mme Maistrenko seeks legal advice. Lawyer Vincent Dubuc-Cusick comes to the conclusion that Canada Soccer’s criteria are not compliant.
“What the law says, what the jurisprudence of the Sport Dispute Resolution Center of Canada (SDRCC) says, is that when you put in requirements, they must be clear, precise, transparent, consistent and predictable, do- notice it. The club or athlete should know on day one what to expect. In this way, one can know why one is refused or why one is accepted. In the Brossard file, Canada Soccer does not respect these standards. We cannot understand why they failed. »
But before dragging Canada Soccer before the SDRCC, the Brossard club had to do some introspection.
“We asked ourselves the question: is it worth the money we spend? Well, with National Youth Club Recognition, you can attract and keep the best players and the best coaches. This will even make it possible to raise the level of development of all our young people,” concluded Ms.me Maistrenko.
The SDRCC
Before the SDRCC, Canada Soccer argued that a club’s finances must be in order to receive National Youth Club Recognition. The national association added that at the end of the evaluation process, “all relevant Canada Soccer and Soccer Quebec staff and committee members reviewed the SBA’s application and concluded that unanimously that it did not meet the standards”. (Soccer Quebec declined to comment on the case.)
The ASB also mentioned “never having received a proposal for an action plan” to remedy the shortcomings of its application file, “nor even been able to discuss this possibility”. Canada Soccer simply mentioned “that the SBA did not ask for it”.
Arbitrator Robert Néron concluded that “not only is this comment inappropriate, but Canada Soccer had an absolute obligation to consider the possibility of a course of action in this case, which it clearly did not not done “.
And the same for the finances of the club. According to the referee, Canada Soccer could not just say that the club’s finances were “fragile”. It was necessary to explain why they were and how the ASB could correct the situation.
On January 7, 2023, the arbitrator ordered Canada Soccer to immediately grant National Youth Club Recognition to the SBA.
A story not yet settled
SDRCC decisions are final and binding, but Canada Soccer has appealed to the Ontario Superior Court. Canada Soccer has asked to suspend the execution of the arbitration award pending a judgment of the Court on the merits of the case. Unsuccessful: the Court dismissed the stay request and ordered that the arbitrator’s decision be applied.
This means that AS Brossard will have a license for 2023. The South Shore club will therefore be the 11e circuit training for this season as well as that of 2024.
Even if the ASB has won its case for the moment – the judgment on the merits will be rendered later –, Me Dubuc-Cusick continues to wonder what could have motivated Canada Soccer to seek judicial review of the case.
It is a bit questionable, the very basis of the appeal. I have all the elements in my possession to ask myself the question about the real intentions of Canada Soccer.
Vincent Dubuc-Cusick, lawyer
“It is certain that by bringing the decision before the Superior Court, they are putting significant financial pressure on a club whose resources should go to the players. We also say, “OK, you may have won, but we will put obstacles in the way so that you cannot benefit from it”. And since Canada Soccer is a pan-Canadian association, they might want to send a message to other clubs saying, “If you’re going after Canada Soccer, you better have deep pockets, because we’re going to bring you to the limit”. »
Good news for the SBA: in another SDRCC decision to award the costs of the arbitration process, the SBA was able to recover some of its legal costs. She was awarded $23,616.93, or 60% of the attorneys’ fees of $39,361.56.
A meaningful decision
On the sporting level, the damage is very real. According to Mme Maistrenko, 87 players left the ASB in favor of another organization to evolve at the level of the PLSJQ. An exodus which will be curbed, according to her, now that the club will be able to evolve in this league.
The case of the ASB did not go unnoticed. Other clubs have attempted to bring Canada Soccer before the SDRCC for the same reasons. This is particularly the case of the Club de soccer Mont-Royal Outremont (CS MRO) and another club, whose identity has not been revealed for the moment.
However, CS MRO’s application to the SDRCC has been temporarily suspended until the Ontario Superior Court renders its decision on the application for review in the ASB case. According to arbitrator Roger Bilodeau, “Canada Soccer could suffer irreparable damage in the absence of clarification by the Court regarding the application of its National Recognition program”.
Until then, eyes will be on the Ontario Superior Court as the ASB, CS MRO and at least one other club hang on to the decision.