May 25 – FC Shakhtar has responded to the extension of FIFA’s suspension of player and coaching contract with Ukrainian clubs saying it could mean losses of €80 million.
Shakhtar CEO, Sergei Palkin, said that the €80 million is on top of the €40 million lost last year.
Palkin said that Shakhtar, working with the European Club Association (ECA) as an intermediary with FIFA, had tried to negotiate a better outcome.
“Unfortunately, several proposals made by FC Shakhtar via the ECA regarding possible amendments to the regulations were turned down by FIFA,” said Palkin.
“FC Shakhtar’s dispute with FIFA centres on the global football governing body’s to introduce Annex 7 in 2022 which led to the automatic suspension of contracts following the illegal and aggressive invasion of Russia’s armed forces into Ukraine,” said Palkin.
“Many international players then left the Club on free transfers. The over-reaching measures applied by FIFA led to massive loss of player transfer income and a depletion of essential Club revenues.”
Shakhtar, like the Ukrainians in the face of the Russian invasion, are not giving up the fight as they battle to reduce further financial losses with a FIFA ruling that places “clubs like FC Shakhtar in Ukraine in a seriously disadvantaged position with zero protection and threatens our very existence.”
The club has already submitted a complaint to the European Commission and is preparing an appeal to the Swiss Federal Court.
“We still count on the ongoing consultation between the ECA and FIFA to develop a financial solution which compensates the losses of FC Shakhtar and other Ukrainian clubs. We hope that a positive outcome can be reached which will be fair and helps us recover at least some of the €80 million we stand to lose as part of the process,” said Pavelko.
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