Swiss title challenger Servette loses appeal at CAS over failure to register 2 new players

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Challenging to win its first league title in 25 years, Swiss soccer club Servette lost an appeal at sport’s highest court on Thursday over failing to register two players it signed in January.

Servette added Arsenal defender Omar Rekik and Lorient forward Bassirou N’Diaye on loan deals for the pursuit of defending champion Young Boys.

Neither player has been selected because Servette did not update its squad list with the Swiss Football League by a mid-February deadline.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Thursday it dismissed an urgent appeal by Servette after a fast-track hearing last Friday.

The Swiss league said this month its decision was “the consequence of the breach by the club and not of the regulations themselves.”

Servette is level on points with Young Boys with 10 games left but is in second place on the goal difference tiebreaker.

The club from Geneva has twice declared bankruptcy and twice been demoted for financial reasons since winning the last of its 17 Swiss leagues in 1999.