Jean-Bart’s lifetime Fifa ban lifted amid claims of threats to alleged victims

Human Rights Watch has questioned the court of arbitration for sport’s decision to overturn Fifa’s lifetime ban on the former president of the Haitian Football Federation Yves Jean-Bart and claimed that some alleged victims were “threatened into silence”.

Jean-Bart – known as “Dadou” – was banned by Fifa’s ethics committee in November 2020 for alleged harassment and sexual abuse against female footballers after a series of investigations in the Guardian. The 75-year-old appealed to Cas in January 2021 and the case was heard by an arbitral panel at the end of March 2022.

A decision had been expected last summer but Cas finally announced on Tuesday that it was lifting Jean-Bart’s ban after the panel “unanimously noted the lack of coherence and inaccuracies in the statements of victims and witnesses presented by Fifa”. It also criticised HRW and the international players’ union Fifpro for failing to “corroborate or confirm” evidence they had presented to Fifa.

“In conclusion, the arbitral panel considers that the evidence brought against Yves Jean-Bart regarding the accusations of sexual abuse, are inconsistent, vague and contradictory and that, consequently, they are not sufficient to establish a violation of Articles 23 and 25 of the Fifa Code of Ethics,” said the Cas statement. “The panel therefore decides to allow the appeal and cancel the penalties set out in the contested decision.”

A spokesperson for Fifa has yet to respond to the Guardian’s request for comment. Minky Worden from HRW claimed the Cas investigation had been tainted by interference from Jean-Bart and that several alleged victims refused to give evidence at all because they feared for their safety. She claimed one witness was sent a message that told him