Sporting Digest: Sports Politics

A NEW international arbitration court to settle off-field disputes with sportsmen was set up in Paris yesterday. The 'Paris Convention' creating the International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS) was signed at the French Olympic headquarters by presidents of major sports bodies, including the International Olympic Committee. It is an attempt to prevent sportsmen going to civil courts to settle disputes. However, Fifa, the world governing body for football, signed it separately with a specially-inserted rider stating that they would not consider its jurisdiction binding.