Juventus Mutu appeal victory to leave Chelsea £15m out of pocket
CHELSEA are set to suffer a hit in excess of £15m after Juventus successfully appealed a ruling ordering the Italian club to pay the sum to the Blues over the signing of Adrian Mutu 10 years ago.
World governing body Fifa decreed in November 2013 that Juventus and Livorno were jointly liable to pay the Blues £14.5m plus interest in relation to the former Romania striker, now 36.
Mutu was sacked by Chelsea in late 2004 after testing positive for cocaine but swiftly signed for Juve, who navigated red tape by initially farming him out to Livorno. Both clubs were found liable, after several years of wrangling, for costs that Chelsea incurred in signing Mutu from Parma and which they later had difficulty recovering from the player.
But Juventus yesterday said the Court of Arbitration for Sport had found in its favour, and had taken the additional step of ordering Chelsea to pay their costs.
“The arbitration award has wholly rejected the demands brought by Chelsea F.C., ordering it to pay the legal fees for the case,” Juventus said in a statement.
Chelsea did not respond to a request for comment when contacted last night.