The Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) has signalled its intention to appeal after a civil court judge ruled that it should maintain its broadcast rights deal with the Full Play agency.
Uruguayan Civil Court Judge Guzmán López last week asked Full Play to provide a $1.75m (€1.55m) guarantee before making a decision over whether the AUF could scrap the rights contract.
The AUF wants to tear up its deal with Full Play, which has rights for Uruguay national team away qualifying matches until 2018. Full Play has been implicated in the corruption scandal surrounding football’s global governing body Fifa.
At the end of August at an AUF general assembly, clubs voted in favour of ending the contract, giving the association the mandate to put the rights back on the market. Full Play challenged the move to dissolve the contract.
Full Play reportedly paid a rights fee instalment of $1m in February, but was then unable to pay a further instalment of $500,000 due to the company’s bank accounts being frozen by the courts. The judge gave Full Play three days to provide the guarantee, ahead of a ruling yesterday (Monday).
The judge said that by paying the guarantee, Full Play would provide assurance that the remaining instalments would be fulfilled. The EFE news agency said Full Play offered this guarantee on Thursday leading López to uphold the injunction filed by the agency and order the AUF to “fulfil all obligations” under the contract.
An AUF spokesperson said the federation has six days in which to file an appeal, an option the organisation is likely to take up.
The spokesperson added: “The ruling does not analyse the total situation and does not give alternatives. And it says nothing of breach of contract by Full Play. There is no other choice than to appeal.”
Uruguay’s next away game is against Bolivia on October 8.