1. FC Köln will take legal action against the transfer ban imposed by the world football association FIFA. As announced by the Bundesliga soccer team, the club is appealing the verdict to the Cas International Sports Court.
The people of Cologne also want to have the sentence suspended until the final verdict. FIFA had previously confirmed the transfer ban. The Rhinelanders are therefore not allowed to sign any players in the summer and in the coming winter transfer window. First the “image” had reported.
The background to the harsh penalty is the circumstances surrounding the signing of U19 striker Jaka Cuber Potocnik. The Cologne team had signed the 17-year-old last year and thus caused trouble. Although it was not a transfer for the first team, the ban still affects all men’s teams at the club.
The FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber found the Cologne team guilty of unjustified breach of contract and incitement to breach of contract.
Potocnik will be banned for four months
The player also has to pay €51,750 to Potocnik’s former Slovenian club Olimpija Ljubljana, with FC joint liability. Young hope Potocnik will also be banned for four months with immediate effect. The player had prematurely terminated his U17 contract in Ljubljana on January 30, 2022, so FC did not have to pay a fee. Just one day later he is said to have signed in the Rhineland. The Slovenians claimed that Cologne instigated the then 16-year-old Potocnik to switch and defended themselves at FIFA. Originally, the club even wanted a transfer fee of 2.5 million euros and around 70,000 euros in damages.
Cologne argue that Potocnik terminated his contract due to numerous breaches of contract by Olimpija Ljubljana. Regarding the allegation of incitement, the FC announcement states that the club “defended itself in a comprehensive statement of defense and submitted evidence” that “refutes incitement to breach the contract”.
The FIFA committee followed the Slovenian club’s reasoning on February 1. The world association saw it as proven that Potocnik had terminated his employment contract with Olimpija Ljubljana without legal grounds. In addition, according to FIFA, FC had not been able to refute the presumption that, as a new club, it had instigated the player to breach the contract.
