FIFA banned Moscow's Lokomotiv from registering new players: reasons and consequences for Russian football
Kyiv • UNN
Moscow's Lokomotiv received a three-year transfer ban and is obliged to pay FC Mariupol 50,000 euros for the transfer of Marc René Mampassi. This decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirmed the previous FIFA decision, despite Russian appeals.
Moscow's "Lokomotiv" has been banned from transfers for three years for refusing to pay compensation to FC "Mariupol" for the transfer of traitor Mark Rene Mampassi. The Sports Arbitration Court also ordered Lokomotiv to pay Mariupol 50,000 euros for the player's transfer. This was reported by "Mariupol" Vice-President Andriy Sanin, as conveyed by UNN.
Details
Friends, you probably saw the news a few days ago that Moscow's "Lokomotiv" finally lost the case against our club regarding Mark Rene Mampassi? Let me add a little background: this case has been dragging on since 2022. The football officials of this Russian Premier League club refused to pay the mandatory FIFA payments required by regulations, the need for which arises when transferring a young footballer. Russian football is no different from Russian politics, where constant lies, distortion of facts, and cynicism of the highest caliber are direct tools of influence. Therefore, the motivation and argumentation of "Lokomotiv's" lawyers were also full of ugly "facts" - allegedly "Mariupol is already a Russian city, it does not fall under the jurisdiction of the UAF, the football club "Mariupol" has been completely destroyed and does not exist as a "subject of football."
He noted that initially, "Mariupol"'s lawyers won this case in the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber, and then "repelled" the Russian appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
And if anyone thinks that the Russians will ever admit their mistakes, they are deeply mistaken. So here is the natural result of three years of fighting against the Russian distortion of reality: as of yesterday, Moscow's "Lokomotiv" received a ban on player registration. Mariupol was, is, and will be a glorious Ukrainian city. And I believe that the time will come when FC "Mariupol" will once again appear on the football map of Ukraine.
Addition
Mark Rene Mampassi is a Ukrainian and Russian footballer of Congolese origin, a graduate of Donetsk "Shakhtar." From 2019 to 2021, he played on loan in "Mariupol," and on December 17, 2021, he moved to Moscow's "Lokomotiv" for 3 million.
"I don't like easy paths. The more difficult, the more interesting. I understood that there would be criticism. But if the Shakhtar coach didn't see me in the squad, I decided to try a different approach. I can understand people; they don't know the whole situation. They express their opinion. All this motivates me to prove to everyone that I made the right choice."
In February 2022, Mampassi, after an accelerated procedure for obtaining a Russian passport, was listed on the RPL website as a citizen of Russia.
After the defender's transfer to "Lokomotiv," "Mariupol" demanded financial compensation from the Russian club for developing the footballer. Consequently, FIFA ordered "Lokomotiv" to pay the Ukrainian club 50,000 euros. However, the Russians refused to pay and filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but CAS rejected it.
The court's decision states that "the appeal filed by FC Lokomotiv is dismissed, and the decision of the FIFA Football Tribunal's Players' Status Committee is upheld."
FC Lokomotiv itself stated that "FC Mariupol, which according to open sources de facto does not participate in any competition, nevertheless, through foreign representatives, appealed to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee to enforce the CAS decision against FC Lokomotiv."
Our club, having received the CAS decision, already in May applied to the RFU for the football union to send a request to FIFA to clarify the status of FC Mariupol, and whether this organization exists at all as a subject of football. However, despite the existence of the above request, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, following the application of foreign representatives of FC Mariupol, initiated proceedings against Lokomotiv for non-compliance with the CAS decision. Four minutes after the opening of this case, FIFA decided to apply a ban on player registration. Given the terms of consideration, as well as the lack of a response regarding the status of FC Mariupol, we consider this decision absolutely unmotivated and consistent with the general trend regarding Russian clubs. Despite the decision made, FC Lokomotiv intends to convey its position to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee and obtain clarifications regarding the decision made. We are confident that the situation will be resolved in the near future and the ban will be lifted.
It should be noted that after the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, due to the destruction of club infrastructure and the occupation of Mariupol as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, "Mariupol" suspended its participation in the Ukrainian championship and did not participate in the 2022/23 season.
However, by decision of the UAF, it was decided to reserve places in the championship for "Mariupol" and "Desna", which also suspended their performances in the UPL.
The FIFA website states that Lokomotiv is banned from registering new players for three years starting June 18, 2025.
In March 2022, UEFA decided to suspend Russian clubs from participating in European competitions.
Recall
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, during the UEFA Congress in Belgrade, Serbia, spoke in favor of Russia's return to international football. UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin said that this would not happen as long as Russian aggression against Ukraine continues.