Norwegian club wins court case against UEFA regarding freedom of expression

SK Brann, a Norwegian football club, three-time winner of the Eliteserien, Norway's first division, took UEFA to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to defend their right of free speech... and they won. It happened after UEFA fined the club twice in 2024 for 5,000 euros because their fans chanted "UEFA is a mafia" at Women's Champions League matches.

The governing body of European football considered that chants and banners suggesting that UEFA was a mafia was a breach of its regulations due to offensive statements and provocative nature. The Norwegian club appealed the sanction to UEFA, with no result. Brann then went to a higher authority, the CAS, and it ruled in favour of the club, via The Guardian.

The judgment of CAS is that saying "UEFA mafia", in the specific context of the football match, was not offensive or provocative, although they admitted that those same words would not be acceptable in other cases. It sides more with the club, which said that those chants were humorous and satirical and don't violate the freedom of speech. They also made a point saying that responding satire of powerful organisations with sanctions would be "problematic".

"It's not every day a club from Norway moves all of football Europe, but today we actually do. In a world where freedom of speech is under attack, this is an important and correct ruling", said the president of Brann, Aslak Sverdrup