News and views from Jean-Philippe Rochat

The importance of the CAS

Starting out as a clerk, Jean-Philippe Rochat went on to become secretary general, a post that he would occupy for six years. «Initially the CAS only dealt with a few matters but, after the signing of the Convention of Paris in 1994, federations have been obliged to turn to the CAS on doping cases, and there has been a real upsurge in the number of cases. We have gone from ten cases a year to 150 over the course of a year. Today the CAS is a small business and the person who took over my post has several staff to assist him. It was also for this reason that I stepped down. I didn’t want to abandon my work as a lawyer.» Struck by the unhealthy financial shifts in football, Jean-Philippe Rochat believes in the importance of the CAS more than ever: «When you see the salaries of some unknown Brazilian players in eastern Europe, you realise that something isn’t quite right.»

An emotional attachment

At the age of 52, Jean-Philippe Rochat is savouring life in Lausanne with his wife, but without his two sons aged 18 and 16, who are part of the interregional cadres of Swiss-Ski and pursuing their education in Brigue and Engelberg: «I try to follow them on skis, but it’s not easy.» A true Lausannois, Jean-Philippe Rochat follows the performances of the region’s clubs: «But I can’t understand the lukewarm attitude of local businesses. When I see how eastern Switzerland manages to mobilise itself, it saddens me.» And the lawyer’s comments on his town: «The administrative capital of sport, a quite exceptional image abroad, a cosmopolitan city, the seat of international companies. Everything is here, without the drawbacks of a big city. I could have lived elsewhere, but not with this emotional attachment.» And once he’s changed out of his suit and into his trainers, Jean-Philippe Rochat heads to Chalet-à-Gobet, «my playground,» as he puts it. «But I adore Ouchy, which I see as a desirable and essential contrast.” And for those moments of relaxation? “The Bavaria or the Grütli. Places where they know how to have a good time.»