Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk are demanding 50m euros (£43m) damages from FIFA for lost transfer fees.
In June, football’s world governing body ruled that foreign players in the country could suspend their contracts following Russia’s invasion.
The club have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for “We had to do this because of FIFA’s highly unfair ruling,” Shakhtar Donetsk chief executive Sergei Palkin told BBC Sport.
“The consequences mean we will continue to lose significant income from deals we expected to close.
“We would also like to highlight that given the situation Ukrainian clubs are facing with the war, there has been little respect shown towards these clubs by FIFA.
“FIFA has not looked to protect clubs and at no stage consulted with us to find a solution – they have seemingly ignored the perilous state that Ukrainian football clubs have been facing since the beginning of the war.”
Shakhtar, regulars in the Champions League, argue they lost money on four players who left the club after the players’ contracts were suspended following FIFA’s ruling.
In a letter to CAS seen by the BBC, Palkin revealed: “Because of FIFA’s decision, FC Shakhtar has lost a chance to transfer four foreign players for the total amount of about €50m.
“Four foreign players immediately withdrew from further negotiations regarding their potential transfers.
“The players’ agents advised them to withdraw from negotiations in order to leave the club without any compensation, which would allow them to secure more lucrative arrangements with new employers.”
FIFA ruled on June 21 that, unless they reached an agreement with their club by June 30, foreign players and coaches could suspend their contracts with Ukrainian clubs until June 30, 2023.
Shakhtar had 14 foreign players in their squad and intended to sell some of those players in order to raise funds to cover their loss of earnings.
Their revenue streams have been decimated by the Russian invasion and the 13-time Ukrainian champions had hoped to recoup money both to cover the club’s losses and assist their humanitarian response to the war. -BBC
