Leeds ordered to pay £18m for a player they used for only 48 minutes
Leeds United have been ordered to pay £18 million for a forward who only played a total of 48 minutes for them.
The club have lost their Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) case over the transfer of Jean-Kévin Augustin and must cough up the fee to RB Leipzig.
Augustin featured in three games during his loan period at Elland Road in the 2019-20 season but as Leeds were promoted from the Sky Bet Championship, the terms of the agreement meant the deal was supposed to become permanent and three instalments would have to be paid to the Bundesliga club.
A Fifa hearing last year upheld Leipzig’s claim that the fee should be paid, after which Leeds appealed against that decision to the CAS. However, on Friday, the CAS announced that it had rejected the appeal.
In a statement, the CAS said: “The panel held that the ‘purchase obligation’ had been triggered at the end of the 2019-20 season, even though the season had concluded later than expected due to the disruption caused by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
All three of Augustin’s Leeds appearances came off the bench. The French forward sustained a muscular injury during his time in England and returned to Leipzig. He moved to Nantes in October 2020 as a free agent and in the summer, now aged 25, signed for Basel, the Swiss club, on a free transfer.
Leeds have said that they plan to challenge the decision. It is possible to appeal a CAS award to the Swiss Federal Tribunal.
Their argument was that for the clause to be activated, Leeds had to be promoted by June 30, when the player’s contract ended, but they achieved promotion on July 17, because the season was delayed by the pandemic.
The club said in a statement: “Leeds United are surprised and disappointed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision, which not only contradicts the language and meaning of the contract but also the practices adopted in European football under Fifa regulations, due to the unique impact of the extensions to the season necessitated by Covid postponements.
“The club will now review carefully all of its legal options with a view to an immediate appeal. We will make no further comment at this time.”
Leipzig welcomed the finding, which will mean they receive three instalments of £6 million.
“This decision of the CAS is in principle final,” Leipzig, who this week reached the Champions League round of 16, said. “Although Leeds United has the opportunity to lodge an appeal with the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, the procedural hurdles for doing so are very high and no points of attack against the CAS decision are to be expected. The outcome of the proceedings is therefore fully in line with RB Leipzig’s intentions.”
