Wrecsam_am_byth
, 06:18 PM
Uefa has challenged the right of the Court of Arbitration for Sport to hear Wales' Euro 2004 appeal.
Russia player Egor Titov failed a drugs test after they beat Wales in the play-offs, but two appeals to Uefa have already failed.
A decision from CAS is due on 12 May but Uefa will first challenge whether the court has any authority.
"It is a massive hurdle to overcome before we get into the case," said FAW secretary general David Collins.
"We always understood that Uefa could challenge that and in its written statements that is its very first point - to challenge CAS.
"The three arbitration judges will consider that and if they find in Uefa's favour then everything ends at that point, if they find in our favour then we'll go on to hear the case properly."
The panel consists of Uefa-nominated Italian judge Massimo Coccia, Wales choice Peter Leaver QC - a former chief executive of the English Premier League - while Dr Michael Geistlinger, an Austrian, is chairman of the panel.
The Switzerland-based CAS is an independent body that helps settle sports-related disputes through arbitration or mediation.
Tim Kerr QC, the barrister hired by the Football Association of Wales to represent it in Lausanne, has a history of persuading CAS to overturn Uefa rulings.
He helped overturn a Uefa Cup ban on AEK Athens in 1998, after European football's governing body objected to the Greek club being owned by the same investment company that controlled Czech side Slavia Prague, who had also qualified for the Uefa Cup.
"If CAS ultimitely finds in our favour, this will have a huge impact on football," Collins added.
"I would forecast that every national association in the world, including Uefa and Fifa, will have to rewrite its doping regulations."
Midfielder Titov tested positive for the banned stimulant bromantan after the first leg play-off with Wales in Moscow last November.
Russia player Egor Titov failed a drugs test after they beat Wales in the play-offs, but two appeals to Uefa have already failed.
A decision from CAS is due on 12 May but Uefa will first challenge whether the court has any authority.
"It is a massive hurdle to overcome before we get into the case," said FAW secretary general David Collins.
"We always understood that Uefa could challenge that and in its written statements that is its very first point - to challenge CAS.
"The three arbitration judges will consider that and if they find in Uefa's favour then everything ends at that point, if they find in our favour then we'll go on to hear the case properly."
The panel consists of Uefa-nominated Italian judge Massimo Coccia, Wales choice Peter Leaver QC - a former chief executive of the English Premier League - while Dr Michael Geistlinger, an Austrian, is chairman of the panel.
The Switzerland-based CAS is an independent body that helps settle sports-related disputes through arbitration or mediation.
Tim Kerr QC, the barrister hired by the Football Association of Wales to represent it in Lausanne, has a history of persuading CAS to overturn Uefa rulings.
He helped overturn a Uefa Cup ban on AEK Athens in 1998, after European football's governing body objected to the Greek club being owned by the same investment company that controlled Czech side Slavia Prague, who had also qualified for the Uefa Cup.
"If CAS ultimitely finds in our favour, this will have a huge impact on football," Collins added.
"I would forecast that every national association in the world, including Uefa and Fifa, will have to rewrite its doping regulations."
Midfielder Titov tested positive for the banned stimulant bromantan after the first leg play-off with Wales in Moscow last November.