31 July 2009 - Mutu Loses Some Of His Appeal

On 31 July 2009, the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed an appeal filed by former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu, thus requiring him to pay €17,173,990 to the Blues in compensation for breach of contract.

The dispute between club and player arose in September 2004, when Mutu, starting his second season with Chelsea, tested positive for cocaine use. The club sacked him the next month. He moved to Juventus the following January, but around the same time, Chelsea sued him for damages related to the costs spent to acquire him from Parma, the cost to replace him, and other expenses.

In May 2008, the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber ordered Mutu to pay Chelsea €17,173,990, including €16,500,000 for the unamortized portion of the transfer fee Chelsea paid to Parma. At the time, it was the highest fine ever levied by FIFA. Mutu appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport - his second appeal to the CAS during the lengthy proceedings. The CAS dismissed the appeal on 31 July 2009 and also ordered Mutu to pay the arbitration expenses for Chelsea in the amount of 50,000 Swiss francs.

Mutu appealed a third time, but that appeal was dismissed in June 2010. He has stated his intention to lodge yet another appeal, this time with the European Court of Justice. Meanwhile, he spent one season with Juventus, then moved to Fiorentina. He is currently serving a nine-month ban from football after testing positive for sibutramine in January 2010.