CAS ruling
Even the International Court of Arbitration for Sport is not helping 1. FC Cologne out of its misery after the illegal transfer of the young Slovenian Jaka Cuber-Potocnik (18). On Thursday, the “billy goats” learned that the ruling made by the FIFA Association Arbitration Court in the spring remains: the Cologne team is not allowed to register any new players for two transfer periods. Last summer, the Rhinelanders were able to have the punishment initially suspended.
Now the final decision is against the FC, although the club says it has put forward extensive arguments against it and sees this confirmed by witness statements. Apart from the fact that the people of Cologne would logically have wanted a different verdict, managing director Christian Keller stated that he had even expected a contrary decision. He said: “Accordingly, we are very disappointed that, despite numerous evidence to the contrary, the CAS classified Jaka Potocnik’s termination as not legally effective and at the same time did not see sufficient evidence that 1. FC Köln did not incite this termination. Regardless, we now have clarity and the state of limbo that lasted several months is finally over.”
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The scenario of a transfer ban has always been taken into consideration in Cologne throughout the months, and “squad planning will be carried out accordingly until the end of the now fixed ban,” added Keller. “The following applies: in every challenge there is always an opportunity. It is precisely with this attitude that we will look forward and tackle this challenge.”
Transfer dispute: Ljubljana demanded 2.5 million from 1. FC Köln
Striker Cuber-Potocnik, who plays for Cologne’s U19 team, signed a contract with FC in January 2022 and terminated the contract with his training club NK Olimpija Ljubljana without notice, in the opinion of the Bundesliga club for important reasons. The Cologne team did not pay a transfer fee and appeared to be innocent. The world association FIFA saw the matter differently, condemning the FC to a registration ban and Cuber-Potocnik to a four-month ban and a fine of 52,000 euros, for which the Cologne team is also liable. FIFA rejected Ljubljana’s further claim for damages of 2.5 million euros.
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