Mutu will continue to fight Chelsea over damages

The disgraced ex-Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu is not happy that the Court of Arbitration for Sport has upheld the £17.4m fine handed down by FIFA after he was caught taking cocaine while under contract to Chelsea, and he intends to carry on fighting against the decision.

“I cannot fail to exercise my right to criticise a sentence that appears profoundly unjust,” he said.

“I think I have amply paid for an error of youth which is light years away from the man and footballer I am now.

“Today after so much time, that error cannot be the basis of a demand for damages that seem to go beyond the realm of sporting sanctions, given that Chelsea unilaterally decided to terminate my contract.

“I am a sportsman but also, above all, a citizen of the European Union and I believe that sporting justice must respect the principles and fundamental rights of the community.

“So I will evaluate every possible initiative to protect my rights.”

He cannot have any appeal with sporting bodies so it sounds like he is going to see if he can take a case to the European Court of Human Rights, but as it has already gone to the CAS it is unlikely that the decision will be overturned at this late stage.

But although Chelsea may have proved a moral point by winning the judgement, they are unlikely to actually receive the money unless Mutu accepts the decision and agrees to pay.

This is unlikely to happen by the sounds of it!