The Court of Arbitration for Sport has dismissed Wales’ appeal to have Russia thrown out of the EURO 2004 finals.
Wales claimed that Russia should have been thrown out of the finals after their player Egor Titov failed a drugs test during their play-off win last year.
Wales’ case was heard in Lausanne on Wednesday, but was held up when UEFA challenged the right of the court to intervene in the case.
UEFA had already turned down two previous appeals from the Football Association of Wales to have Russia excluded.
Titov was an unused substitute in the first leg of the play-off but started in the second leg at the Millennium Stadium.
A statement from the FAW read: “The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the appeal filed by the Football Association of Wales (FAW) against the decision of the UEFA’s Appeals Body of 19 March 2004 rejecting FAW’s application in relation to the play-off qualifying match for Euro 2004 between Wales and Russia.
“Further to the positive doping test of the Russian player Egor Titov (who has been suspended by UEFA for one year), the FAW requested that the first and/or second legs of this play-off match be awarded to Wales 3-0 and/or that Russia be disqualified from Euro 2004 and be replaced by Wales.”
