Ridiculous. They purged/nullified/canceled/whatevered the contract, so there should be no contractual obligations left...

Those wacky Romanians

How he could afford that I don't even know he will probably have to pay it back weekly.

Chelsea still coughed up the money to buy him.

Though with the Mark Bosnich experience they should have drug tested Mutu before purchase.

They may have coughed up the money to buy him, but they still terminated his contract. He didn't leave off his own accord. Kind of like if you resign as opposed to being sacked. You are basically leaving through your own accord and are not eligible for compensation or benefits. Likewise, it works the same vice versa, Chelsea let him go, basically stopped employing him and paying a wage, so how can they possibly claim compensation?

I seriously doubt, if he takes this through the human rights courts, that he will have to pay such a ridiculous fee.

Ridiculous indeed.

I'm rather sure he should beat this on appeal.

I thought this was after his appeal!
I thought it was first 9 mill then it shot up to 13mill.

Yeah, but the decision was made by Fifa, I should think he would be able to take the appeal through a proper court.

After all who are Fifa to make a decision like this. By the way, wouldn't a penalty like this be similar to enslaving him? What do you think Sepp?

This is a excessive fine for cocaine. Im not sure why he is even charged for this; He should be charged local laws.

Today's declaration by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ordered Adrian Mutu to pay over €17 million in compensation to Chelsea for "breach of contract".

The Romanian tested positive for cocaine after a doping test in 2004, but has put his career back on tract with Fiorentina after a brief spell with Juventus.

His team-mates are now rallying around him, and the club captain Dario Dainelli has announced that they will give him both personal and financial help.

"It is obvious that Adrian cannot be very happy," he said, according to Tuttomercatoweb.com.

"However, we are trying to joke about it with him and, together with the rest of the squad, we will raise some money
to help him."

The 30-year-old formed a lethal partnership with Alberto Gilardino for Fiorentina last season, and hopefully for the Gigliati faithful, the show of solidarity from his team-mates will spur the Romanian on to a similarly successful season next year.

He was stupid to break the law, and the rules in that way, but I don't really think the punishment fits the crime. I have seen companies fined less for criminal misconduct that costs lives

I think chelsea should be fined. They were the ones which dumped him, as far as they were concerned they didn't want to give him the time to redeem himself, they didn't even sell him.
Considering how Chelsea have operated over the last few years with regards to players and managers, 15 mill is nothing.

He's 30 already?

I hope he got a good high off that coke considering the amount it has cost him.

Mutu Forced to Retire by Chelsea

Adrian Mutu will be forced to quit football by Chelsea if he doesn't pay them the €17,173,990 compensation he was ordered to by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and the race is now on to try and save his career, according to La Nazione.

Mutu has until Monday to pay Chelsea the compensation. If he doesn't, then the Premier League side will force the player to quit by applying to FIFA for a ban.

The race is now on to try and find a solution and the report suggests Mutu is looking at every avenue. It is said Fiorentina and the player's legal team are looking towards UEFA and the European Courts for a hand. Furthermore, voices in Italy claim Chelsea are in no mood to offer the player a chance to find the cash. He either pays, or stops playing football, putting his career at risk.

News emerging from Italy has shocked the country, and Florence in particular. The Della Valle family who own Fiorentina are also getting involved and they have applied to the Italian FA to support them. Italian minister for work Maurizio Sacconi is urging the Berlusconi-led government to take action in an attempt to save the player's career.

"The Mutu case is delicate and I urge the government to get involved," said the minister.

It is also said Juventus and Livorno are ready to back Mutu in his plea for justice. There are serious fears that the game against Palermo tomorrow night could be his last. The player's legal team and club are working over time in an attempt to explore new avenues and buy him more time.

As a last resort, the paper has even suggested a fund raising event in the city in an attempt to help the striker pay the massive sum.

All this comes from the player's sacking by Chelsea in October 2004 when he was found positive for cocaine during a doping test. Mutu was then ordered to pay Chelsea €17m in damages after the CAS rejected an appeal following the initial compensation decision last year.

In May 2008, the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber ruled that Mutu had committed a breach of contract whilst at Chelsea after he was found positive for a doping test in 2004.

Mutu appealed to the CAS against the decision, but the panel upheld the original judgement by the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber, and ruled in favour of Chelsea. The decision means Mutu will have to pay the Premier League side a total of €17,173,990 in compensation.

The striker is now trying desperately to find a solution and it is said he will take the case to the high courts.

Chelsea's stance in this matter has shocked sections of the football world, and there are fears in some quarters over the damage this has done to their public relations.

Governments bailing out drug-taking footballers? Huh..

Poor Mutu, sure he has taken drugs but the way this has been handled by Chelsea and FIFA is just shocking.

What a bunch of scumbags the Chelsea outfit really are. My dislike of them has been growing stronger with every passing season. Sure, taking drugs is wrong but there is no need for him to be forced to end his career because of it.

Fiorentina striker Adrian Mutu has issued an open letter to Chelsea over their massive compo demand.

“I cannot pay such a sum and no person in my condition realistically could,” said the Fiorentina striker in a statement released to news agency ANSA.

“It is not an issue of intention so much as the comprehension of a rational and natural principle of inability.

“I am sorry for what happened when I was at Chelsea and I have carried that disappointment within me for years.”

Mutu was ordered to pay compensation after failing a drugs test while at Stamford Bridge in 2004 and could even be banned from football if he does not resolve the debt.

“I think that the best way to define this issue, with the reciprocal satisfaction of all parties, would be this: I pledge to make a significant donation to a charity on Florence or another Italian city that works to help youngsters who have been affected by drugs and an identical donation to a charity chosen by Chelsea and another in my country of Romania.

“I absolutely no not wish to do ‘mere charity’ as much as prove along with Chelsea that our world is able to remember the real international and social importance of sport.

“That football is able to overcome its conflicts to contribute to the suffering of young people who have made mistakes, sometimes encouraged by bad examples set by various elements of society, including the world of sport.

“I want to show these young people they should not be destroyed, but recovered with the real values of life.”

Tribal Football