Court delays Sailesi’s case
T
he court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) has shifted the ruling in a case Zambian club Lusaka Dynamos appealed against Fifa’s determination to pay Daliso Sailesi K98 million from April 29 to August 31.
In 2019, Fifa ordered that the Zambian club should pay Sailesi the amount as compensation for breach of contract.
However, last year, Dynamos appealed to CAS and the court was supposed to make a ruling by April 29.
But the midfielder will now have to wait longer before he knows his fate.
A letter to the two parties which we have seen states that CAS will now make the ruling by August 31.
“On behalf of the Deputy President of the CAS Appeals Arbitration Division, please be advised that the time limit to communicate the Arbitral Award to the Parties, pursuant to Article R59 of the Code of Sports-related Arbitration, has been extended until 30 August 2021. Please be advised that I remain at the Parties’ disposal for any further information,” reads the letter in part signed by CAS arbitrator Kendra Magraw.
The player’s representative Felix Ngamanya Sapao confirmed the development in an interview yesterday.
He said: “The case judgement was supposed to be done by April 29. But now they have extended deadline of their judgement to August 31.”
Sapao said he was surprised with the delays following the appeal by Dynamos about a year ago.
“CAS judgements usually take less time than Fifa judgements,” he said.
Sapao also disclosed that the Zambian club offered $50 000 (about K40 million) out of court settlement, but Sailesi refused.
“Out of K95 million which Fifa awarded Sailesi they offered K40 million but we turned it down,” he said.
Dynamos signed Sailesi from Nyasa Big Bullets in 2018 on a five-year contract which saw the club pocketing a record K22 million.
However, the deal went sour after the player stayed for several months without pay.
Sailesi terminated the deal and lodged a complaint with Fifa for breach of contract.
The world football governing body’s Dispute Resolution Chamber made its ruling on the matter in October 2019.
Sailesi is back with Bullets, but he has struggled to regain his first team position.
