Gunnarsdottir pregnant, Lyon did not pay. Club ordered to pay salaries

Salaries not paid for six months, due to pregnancy announced at the beginning of 2021: Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir, Juventus footballer, sheds light on the controversies that arose at the time when she was a member of Lyon, her previous club, which was sentenced by Fifa to pay 82 thousand euros in the pockets of the Icelandic midfielder.

The fact

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In March 2021, in fact, Sara informed the club that she had become pregnant: the managers gave her the green light to return to Iceland, her country of origin, to face the pregnancy with her loved ones and confront the doctors who have long they followed her. Once back home, however, the player realized that something was wrong: for the months of April, May and June she had only been paid a small part of her salary.

The rules

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Yet, according to the provisions of Fifa, the players are entitled to the entire salary for the entire duration of the pregnancy, up to the moment of perception of the maternity leave (dating back, in the case of Gunnarsdottir, to the end of September 2021).

The club’s response

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The Icelandic, after having confronted some colleagues, asked the club for an explanation through the Unfp, the French union of footballers. After weeks without a response from Lyon, her agent sent an initial warning to comply, asking for the payment of 44,828 euros, a value corresponding to the part of the last salaries that Sara had not received. Her answer was disarming: “The footballer was placed on sick leave starting in March 2021, as her health conditions did not allow her to carry out any work activity”. Yet, the identification of the period during which to perceive the leave should have been up to Sara.

“If you go to Fifpro…”

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After taking note of Lyon’s positions, Gunnarsdottir decided to contact Fifpro, despite the fact that the club had suggested she not proceed through legal proceedings: “Lyon’s response was that, if I had done so, I would have had no future in the their team,” Sara said in a letter written to The Players Tribune.

Happy ending

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Fifpro’s decision arrived last May and provided for the club to be ordered to pay salaries in full (82 thousand euros) plus 5% interest for the period between 10 September and the date of actual payment. The case closed definitively last Tuesday, with Lyon refusing to lodge an appeal. “I’m happy at Juventus – continued Sara in her letter -, but I want to be sure that no one is in my situation anymore. This is not about business, but about my rights as a human being, as a woman and as a worker. Today I’m confident for women’s football, there’s so much to celebrate”.