ZURICH (SWITZERLAND), 17 Jan. (dpa/EP) –
FIFA announced this Tuesday that French Olympique de Lyon will have to pay Icelandic international Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir more than 80,000 euros in back wages that were not transferred to her during her pregnancy.
The court of the world soccer governing body agreed with the soccer player, who has played for Juventus in Turin since last summer, for which she will receive a total amount of 82,094.82 euros, plus five percent interest. Even so, the current European champion will have 21 days to appeal the decision before the International Court of Sports Justice.
“This story is bigger than me. This is a wake-up call to all the clubs and a message to all the players that they have rights and guarantees if they are pregnant or want to become pregnant during their sports career,” said the Icelandic in her official ‘Twitter’ account after learning of the decision.
In the 35 pages that make up the sentence, FIFA offered information about the facts and also about the content of the Icelandic contract, which signed for Lyon in 2020. These are payments that had not been made before her maternity leave after learning of the pregnancy in March 2021. “It is about my rights as an employee, as a woman, as a human being,” added the soccer player.
For its part, the footballers union FIFPRO commented that it was very important for women’s football that the mandatory maternity leave rules introduced by FIFA in January 2021 be respected. “Gunnarsdóttir’s historic ruling against Olympique sends a clear message to clubs and footballers around the world. The strict application of maternity rights is enforceable,” he said.