The transfer dispute between 1. FC Köln and Olimpija Ljubljana is being fought with ever tougher conditions. One day after FC announced criminal charges against three representatives of the Slovenian club for attempted fraud, Olimpija announced in “kicker” that it would now take action against the Bundesliga club for defamation.
Ljubljana’s German vice-president Christian Dollinger appeared to be “very surprised” about the move in the “Bild” newspaper and the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger” and declared: “The allegations made by 1. FC Köln are therefore firmly rejected .”
The Cologne public prosecutor’s office meanwhile confirmed to “Kicker” that it had moved beyond the status of the preliminary investigation: “Nevertheless, the presumption of innocence naturally applies until the investigation is completed.”
The Düsseldorf criminal law expert Ingo Bott told the newspaper: “By starting from an initial suspicion, the Cologne public prosecutor’s office makes it clear that, according to criminal experience, there are actual indications of criminally relevant behavior.”
Ljubljana wants compensation
The FC was sentenced to a transfer ban of two transfer periods by the world football association FIFA because of the accusation of inciting a breach of contract in the free transfer of the Slovenian junior national player Jaka Cuber Potocnik (18) to Cologne in January 2022. However, the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) suspended the ban. There is no final verdict yet.
Ljubljana is also demanding compensation from the Rhinelanders. The FC now complained that “NK Olimpija Ljubljana is trying to get an unjustified amount of damages awarded based on false statements of facts.”