Adrian Mutu loses long-standing court battle and is ordered to pay Chelsea £14m

14 June 2010 16:17
Facing up to it: Adrian Mutu has to pay Chelsea £14m[LNB]Adrian Mutu has been ordered to pay former club Chelsea £14million after losing his final appeal in a legal battle which has lasted over five years.The Swiss Federal Court confirmed on Monday morning that they have upheld the decision made by FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport.[LNB]Mutu was sacked by the Barclays Premier League club in September 2004 after the Romanian striker tested positive for cocaine.[LNB]The Romania international received a seven-month ban from football, but Chelsea took a firm stance on the forward and sacked him before then suing him to recover the money they paid to sign him.[LNB]The court was keen to highlight that they were unable to make a ruling on the actual decision but rather just the sum involved - 17,173,990 euros (£14, 269, 475) plus interest.[LNB]The statement read: 'The court first rejected the arguments by which the footballer questioned the impartiality of two of the three arbitrators who rendered the decision.[LNB]'On those merits, the federal court recalled that, in the field of international arbitration, it does not retry the case, as a court of appeal would, but can check only certain aspects very limited to the basis of recorded facts in the imposed sentence.[LNB]'In this case, the federal court had only to consider whether the amount of damages/interest allocated to the London club violated the core values that all judicial systems should follow.[LNB] Sold: Mutu moved to Fiorentina four years ago and he enjoyed some success before being hit with a nine-month ban after testing positive for sibutramine [LNB]'They came to the conclusion that this was not the case, so that the Romanian footballer's appeal was unfounded.'[LNB]It is unclear whether Mutu - who has also been ordered to pay court costs - will be able to pay the full amount after reports in Romania last year suggested the striker was bankrupt.[LNB]Chelsea paid Parma £15.8m for Mutu in August 2003 and received no money for the striker when he returned to rebuild his career in Italy after serving his ban.[LNB]Juventus sold Mutu to Fiorentina for £6.64m in July 2006. The Viola star is currently serving a nine-month ban after testing positive for sibutramine in January and will be allowed to return to football on October 29. Chelsea have declined to comment.[LNB] Former Chelsea star Adrian Mutu banned for nine months after failing drug testCocaine shame Chelsea flop Adrian Mutu fails another drug test while at Fiorentina[LNB] [LNB]  

Source: Daily_Mail