The European Commission has received a complaint from FC Shakhtar Donetsk against the International Football Federation (FIFA) for its decision to allow foreign players to suspend contracts with Ukrainian clubs until the summer of 2023 due to the war, causing $43.6 million in damages to the club.
The FA is demanding compensation.
“We have received a complaint, which we will consider on the basis of our standard procedures,” the European Commission told Interfax-Ukraine on Friday.
The EC did not provide further comment. “We have no further comments,” the EC said.
Earlier, the media reported that the European Commission is not the first instance to which Shakhtar is turning with this demand. The first suit against the federation was filed in the summer of 2022 in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, but in January 2023 it was dismissed. The lawsuit claimed that the emergency rules adopted by FIFA derailed the transfer of four foreign players to Shakhtar for EUR50 million.
“We expect the European Commission to understand and appreciate the extraordinary financial pressure that our club is under because of FIFA’s actions, while our country is being devastated by an illegal war,” said club general director Sergei Palkin.
