Shakhtar Donetsk CEO Sergei Palki has announced to ESPN that the Ukrainian football club has launched a legal case to FIFA against Olympique Lyonnais regarding Brazilian right winger Tetê’s (23) loan to Leicester City in January.
Mateus Cardoso Lemos Martins, or Tetê, left Donetsk eighteen months ago for Lyon under Annex 7 of FIFA’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players. The latter allowed foreign players in Ukraine or Russia to suspend, but not terminate, their contracts due to the ongoing war between both countries. Tetê joined Les Gones on March 31st, 2022. The Brazilian then extended his Lyon contract until 2023. According to Palki, Tête already had a contract that Shakhtar that ran until 2023.
https://twitter.com/OL/status/1542845512298143746?lang=en
Lyon then received €1m from Leicester City during last winter’s transfer window for Tetê’s loan. Palki considered that Lyon had abused Annex 7. “The player belonged to us. The player had a contract with us. It looks like they received unjust enrichment at the expense of our club.” Palki mentions that they asked FIFA for the restitution of the €1m sum.
The Shakhtar Donetsk CEO adds that the Ukrainian club has also filed a complaint directly against Tetê, who joined Turkish giants Galatasaray this summer after Donetsk had terminated his contract due to his absence. “In accordance with Annex 7, the player should have sent us an official letter before July 1 to say ‘I would like to use Annex 7 to suspend my contract.’ Tetê didn’t.“
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
