A fresh legal twist has emerged in the dispute surrounding the abandoned league match involving Nairobi United FC and Gor Mahia FC after the matter moved to the High Court of Kenya.

Sitting at the Milimani Law Courts, Hon. Lady Justice R. E. Aburili certified as urgent an application filed by the Football Kenya Federation Leagues and Competitions Committee and the Football Kenya Federation Disciplinary Committee seeking to challenge the earlier decision by the Sports Disputes Tribunal.

In orders issued on March 10, the court granted leave for the applicants to seek judicial review through an order of Certiorari aimed at quashing the Tribunal’s ruling delivered on March 6 in the case involving Nairobi United and the FKF committees. The Tribunal had nullified the Leagues and Competitions Committee decision on the abandoned match and declared that the current FKF Disciplinary Committee was not legally constituted due to lack of ratification by the FKF General Assembly.

Crucially, the High Court directed that the leave granted will operate as a stay of the Tribunal’s decision and directions issued in the matter. This effectively suspends the implementation of the Tribunal ruling ,including the declaration regarding the legality of the FKF Disciplinary Committee, until the High Court hears and determines the substantive application.

The court also granted leave for the applicants to seek an order of prohibition to stop the Tribunal from hearing or determining disputes involving football clubs before internal dispute resolution mechanisms under the FKF Constitution are exhausted. Specifically, the application cites the Football Kenya Federation Appeals Committee established under Article 67 of the 2017 FKF Constitution as the proper appellate body within the federation’s structure.

The High Court further directed that the substantive motion must be filed and served within 21 days from March 10. The case will return to court on April 20 for an inter-partes mention to provide further directions on the progress of the matter.

The latest development significantly alters the immediate impact of the Tribunal’s earlier decision, which had triggered widespread debate across Kenyan football after declaring the FKF Disciplinary Committee illegally constituted. That ruling had raised the possibility of multiple disciplinary decisions being challenged across both the top-tier league and the FKF National Super League.

With the High Court now intervening and placing the Tribunal’s decision on hold, the dispute has entered a new phase that could ultimately determine not only the outcome of the Nairobi United versus Gor Mahia case but also clarify the hierarchy between internal football dispute mechanisms and the Tribunal’s jurisdiction.

As the legal battle shifts to the High Court, the case continues to cast a spotlight on governance and dispute resolution structures within Football Kenya Federation, with the coming weeks likely to shape how football disputes are handled in the country moving forward.