In this case, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld the appeal filed by the Bulgarian player, Atanas Kurdov, setting aside the FIFA decision on the dispute between the parties. The Sole Arbitrator, contrary to FIFA, decided that the player had just cause to terminate his contract after having been sidelined by the club for slightly over a month; having been put on the transfer list; and having been summoned to join the reserve team in the last minute with no apparent sporting or legal justification for undetermined period of time.
Brief facts
In February 2014, FC Astana and Atanas Kurdov entered into an employment contract, valid until December 2016 (i.e. for 3 seasons). The player’s monthly salary was supposed to increase by USD 5,000 (approx. EUR 4,300) each year, for which reason the parties agreed to sign a “supplementary agreement for every year.”
As of December 2014, Kurdov started urging Astana to pay him outstanding amounts. As a reaction, Astana’s head coach, Mr Stanimir Stoilov (also a Bulgarian like the player), told him to look for a new club.
In January 2015, Astana wrote to Kurdov to confirm that he should look for a new club, but that they cannot allow him to leave for free.
In the same month, Astana held two training camps in Dubai and Antalya for...
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