Recently, former Chinese women's soccer coach Bruno's contract dispute with his assistants and the Chinese Football Association (CFA) has attracted a lot of attention.In March 2020, FIFA ruled that the CFA needed to compensate Bruno Bini and his assistants $1.1 million and nearly $500,000 for the unlawful termination of his contract. The CFA appealed the decision to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).In January 2021, the CAS ruled in favor of Bruno Bini.
However, the CFA has been slow to fulfill the judgment, on April 7 this year, FIFA Disciplinary Committee ruled that the CFA has not fulfilled the obligation to pay about 1.6 million U.S. dollars, and gave it 60 days to fulfill the deadline. June 13, the media have predicted that China's men's and women's football may face a global ban, but is it really the case? Wang Qinbo, a senior reporter for Sports Weekly, gave the answer: No. The Chinese Football Association (CFA) was found to have failed to fulfill its obligation to pay out about $1.6 million.
All legal proceedings in this case have been completed and the judgment is final. Bini has the right to choose to accept or reject the out-of-court settlement. According to the judgment, CFA will have to pay US$1106,250 in liquidated damages and interest, as well as 6,000 Swiss francs in legal fees.
The FIFA Disciplinary Committee allowed the CFA 60 days to resolve the payment issue and required both parties to provide timely information on remittances and receipts. If it continues to refuse to enforce the judgment, the CFA could face harsher penalties, including the risk of a global ban.
However, the judgment did not mention June 13 as the final deadline, including the fine of 30,000 Swiss francs, which was not required to be paid before June 13, either. As a result, the CFA is not yet on the verge of a global ban, although it is under tremendous pressure.
