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Socceroos midfielder Mark Bresciano wants sport’s highest court to overturn his four-month ban by FIFA, even though the appeal case could cost him a place at the World Cup.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport said on Thursday it registered an appeal by Bresciano and Qatari club Al Gharafa, which FIFA judged should serve a one-year transfer ban for luring him to break his contract with Al Nasr in the United Arab Emirates.
Bresciano and Al Gharafa want the sanctions frozen while the case proceeds. That pushes the case timetable toward the World Cup which kicks off on June 12 in Brazil.
The court said its panel’s final verdict is expected “in around four months’ time.”
If Bresciano loses then, the four-month ban would include the World Cup in Brazil.
Had he accepted the judgment of FIFA’s disputes panel last month, the ban would have been completed in March.
The 33-year-old Bresciano was selected for Australia’s past two World Cup squads.
He and Al Gharafa are also appealing FIFA’s order making them jointly liable to pay Al Nasr 1,377,000 euros ($A2.09 million) in compensation.
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