Vadim Milov's lawsuit against FIDE has been accepted by the Cour d'Arbitrage du Sport.

Русская версия

The Swiss Grandmaster Vadim Milov has informed the ACP that the lawsuit he has filed against FIDE, regarding the impossibility for him to participate in the last FIDE World Chess Championship (WCC) in Tripoli (Libya), has been accepted by the Cour d'Arbitrage du Sport (CAS), the International Sports Tribunal from Lausanne (Switzerland) and is currently under way.

Despite repeated demands by the ACP and several national chess federations, FIDE did not care to answer the legitimate concerns of several participants, in particular those holding an Israeli passport, such as Mr Milov, about having to travel to such a hazardous location as Libya.

Although he signed his player's undertaking in time, Mr Milov was not issued an official invitation by FIDE until the 18th of June 2004, the day of the opening ceremony of the WCC in Tripoli. Such a late invitation made it quite impossible for him to be in time for the first game on the 19th of June, and would have put him under such strain that he would not have been able to defend his chances under normal conditions. The ACP would like to express its support to Mr Vadim Milov for his principled stance in this matter and fully acknowledges his courageous decision to assign FIDE to the Sports Arbitration Court in Lausanne. Moreover, chess players or enthusiasts willing to express their sympathy with Mr Milov's legitimate action, are welcome to do so through the ACP. We shall forward him any offer of assistance in this important fight for sporting justice.

The ACP Board
13 October 2004