October 3 – Former Romanian striker Adrian Mutu has been ordered to pay Chelsea £15.2 million after losing an appeal at the European Court of Human Rights, a landmark sum as the highest compensation figure ever set by FIFA in such cases. It is also an important judgement for the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), endorsing its position as sport’s independent judicial process.
Mutu, 39, was sacked by Chelsea in 2004 after testing for positive for cocaine and given a seven-month ban. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ordered him to pay damages in 2009, upholding a FIFA ruling.
On Tuesday the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rejected Mutu’s appeal against the CAS decision saying there had been “no violation” of his right to a fair trial.
Mutu had alleged CAS had not been independent or impartial in its ruling because one of the arbitrators on its panel had been a partner in a law firm that represented the interests of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.
But the ECHR, the last possible judicial body for Mutu to approach, said it had “no strong reason” to overrule the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, which concluded Mutu “had not substantiated his allegations” in upholding the CAS judgement in 2010.
After signing Mutu from Parma in 2003 in the first wave of big money purchases signed off by Abramovich, Chelsea sought compensation from the forward following the doping case with FIFA setting damages at £15.2 million.
Mutu subsequently joined Livorno on a free transfer and was later signed by Juventus. He eventually settled at Fiorentina, scoring 70 goals in 143 games, although he was also banned after testing positive for a prohibitive substance during his time in Florence.
After retiring as a player in 2016 following an international career in which he scored 35 goals in 77 games he took up management and earlier this year was given a job in charge of Voluntari in the Romanian top flight. His reign lasted only 11 games.
After Tuesday’s hearing Chelsea confirmed they were still pursuing the player for the damages.
“We are exercising our legal remedies to recover the amounts owed to us and we will continue to do so,” a club spokesman said.
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