Last year FIFA issued a fine of £14.65 million for Adrian Mutu to pay to Chelsea. This followed his positive test for cocaine and his sacking from the club.
Ban
The Romanian striker had cost Chelsea £15 million in 2003, but was sacked just a year later. FIFA made it’s ruling for breach of contract. Following his test and subsequent sacking he was given a seven month worldwide football ban.
After the fine was issued Mutu described it as “inhumane and unjust” and immediately announced his intention to appeal against it.
Rejected
Mutu, who now plays for Fiorentina, has now had the bad news that the Court of Arbitration for Sport, (CAS), have rejected his appeal and upheld the original fine.
FIFA based the punishment on loss of earnings which were calculated on the length of time the thirty year old striker had left on his contract. It is the highest fine ever imposed by FIFA.
A statement from the CAS said,
“The CAS panel concluded that the appeal brought by the player was to be dismissed and the measure of damages, as awarded by Fifa’s Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC), was to be confirmed. Adrian Mutu must therefore pay 17,173,990 euros to Chelsea FC. In 2005, CAS confirmed the decision of the Football Association Premier League Appeals Committee finding that, because of a positive doping test, Mutu had committed a breach of the employment contract without just cause. In 2007, CAS set aside a first decision by the DRC denying jurisdiction and referred the matter back to Fifa to determine and impose the appropriate sporting sanction and/or order for compensation arising out of the dispute.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly Chelsea welcomed the CAS decision. The statement issued by the club said,
“Not only did the Dispute Resolution Chamber make us a very significant monetary award, it also recognised the damaging effect incidents involving drugs have on football and the responsibility we all have in this area.”
After serving his ban, Mutu joined Juventus where he stayed for a couple of seasons before moving on to Fiorentina.
Best
The striker has a great career record with one hundred and fifty seven goals in three hundred and seventy two games. Last season he scored an impressive thirteen goals in seventeen Serie A games. His international record of twenty-nine in sixty-six is comparable to the very best.
In fact, Chelsea was the only club for who Mutu didn’t really produce the goods. Whilst he was playing for them he only found the net ten times in thirty-eight appearances. Of course, he may well have been playing under the influence of cocaine which, as far as I’m aware, has never been considered performance enhancing.
Tough
It does seem like an incredibly tough penalty but maybe that is a good thing. Maybe it is right that FIFA have laid down the law so strongly in this case that it will serve as a serious deterrent to other players who may be considering going down the road taken by Mutu.
Do you think this is a fair outcome or has Mutu been unfairly treated?
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