Swiss Court Rejects Appeal, Romanian Footballer Mutu Must Pay Chelsea EUR17M Damages

The Swiss Federal Court rejected Mutu's arguments against two of the three referees who had issued the CAS's ruling. Court representatives added that Mutu's CAS case cannot be reheard, as the Court's duty is to assess aspects of the legal process through which the disputed decision had been reached. The court found the amount of compensation awarded to Chelsea violated no legal principles and ruled that "the Romanian footballer's appeal was unfounded."

On May 7, 2008, the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber, or DRC, found that Mutu had breached his contract and awarded Chelsea EUR17,173,990 in damages.

Mutu then lodged a complaint with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, asking that the decision be revoked and that he be relieved from paying damages. However, his plea was rejected by the CAS on July 31, 2009.

On September 14, 2009, Mutu appealed against the decision of the CAS with the Swiss Federal Court. Initially, the Swiss Federal Court decided to temporarily annul the CAS ruling on October 21, 2009.

In the summer of 2003, Chelsea paid Italian football club AC Parma GBP15.8 million for Mutu's transfer. Mutu, currently on the roster of AC Fiorentina, signed a five-year contract with Chelsea at the time, but the English club decided to sack him in October 2004, after he tested positive for cocaine in an anti-doping screening.

Britain's Football Association suspended Mutu for seven months, on account of his positive cocaine test result. Representatives of the British football club said the Romanian striker has caused Chelsea losses of GBP13 million.

Mutu, 31, is currently serving a nine-month doping ban in Italy, which is set to expire late October.

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