Adrian Mutu ordered to pay Chelsea £14.7m by Court of Arbitration for Sport

31 July 2009 20:52
Mutu, who cost the the club £15m in 2003, was sacked a year later after he tested positive for cocaine, and was given a seven-month worldwide football ban. After being axed by Chelsea and serving his ban, the Romanian joined Juventus in January 2005, and at the end of the following season he moved to Fiorentina. In May last year, Mutu was ordered to pay the damages by Fifa's Dispute Resolution Chamber but the player lodged an appeal against their decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. However, the CAS today dismissed Mutu's appeal and confirmed that the player must pay 17,173,990 euros in compensation to Chelsea. A statement released by CAS read: "The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has today dismissed the appeal filed by the Romanian football player, Adrian Mutu, against the decision rendered by the Fifa Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) on 7 May 2008 in which he was ordered to pay 17,173,990 euros compensation to his former club, Chelsea FC, for breach of contract. "It is the third decision rendered by the CAS in this matter. In 2005, the 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, the 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. "Then, the DRC issued its decision on compensation which generated this third CAS arbitration. In his appeal to the CAS, Adrian Mutu sought to set aside the DRC decision and establish that no compensation was due to be paid by him to Chelsea FC. "The CAS Panel concluded that the appeal brought by the player was to be dismissed and the measure of damages, as awarded by the DRC, was to be confirmed. Adrian Mutu must therefore pay EUR 17,173,990 to Chelsea FC." When Fifa announced its verdict last year, Chelsea called it "a very significant decision for football". The Chelsea statement at that time read: "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." Mutu's fine was based on lost earnings and was calculated on the length of time his contract had left to run. It was the highest ever handed down by Fifa.

Source: Telegraph