FIFA’s Football Tribunal have directed Egyptian giants El Zamalel to pay former player Benjamin Acheampong €180,000 in unpaid salaries.
The ruling also mandates that the club pay 5% interest on the outstanding salaries owed to Acheampong as they failed to comply with the initial ruling issued in December 2020.
Additionally, the Tribunal awarded €90,000 to the Ghanaian player, though some of his other claims were rejected. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) had previously ruled in December 2020 that El Zamalek owed Acheampong $1.1 million after he was coerced into terminating his contract with the club.
The CAS ruling stated that the five-time African champions would face a transfer ban if they failed to comply with the terms of the ruling. Acheampong joined Zamalek in September 2017 from El Dakhleya SC but terminated his contract after 11 months due to reasons such as inadequate payment and exclusion from training and squad.
According to Article 24 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, if full payment is not made within 45 days of notification, the club will be prohibited from registering new players nationally and internationally for up to three consecutive registration periods.
If full payment is still not made after the three consecutive registration periods, the matter will be referred to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.
The imposed consequences will only be enforced at the claimant’s request, in accordance with the relevant articles of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players. The decision was made without any costs.
