Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Sevilla, La Liga, AS Saint-Étienne, Ligue 1
Josh Lawless
La Liga side Sevilla have won a court ruling after ripping up a defender's contract due to him being "severely overweight".
In the summer of 2018, Joris Gnagnon signed for the Andalusian outfit from Rennes for a fee of £11.6 million.
He penned a five-year contract but made just 17 appearances for the club before his deal was ripped up in September 2021.
Sevilla had issues with Gnagnon's discipline, professionalism and physical fitness.
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They ended up setting him a weight target of 90kg and said he was overweight in July 2021 - ultimately leading to his dismissal following four disciplinary proceedings.
However, as reported by The Athletic, Gnagnon sought compensation of €4.6m plus interest and took the issue to FIFA.
They sided with Sevilla and so Gnagnon took the case to Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) but they too ruled in favour of the seven-time Europa League winners and said the action taken was justified.
CAS said he was reminded about his need to lose weight and the potential consequences.
The defender must now pay for legal costs. Following the verdict being reached, Sevilla issued a statement on the matter.
They said: “The Court of Arbitration for Sport has ruled that the dismissal of the player Joris Gnagnon was justified given that he failed to maintain appropriate weight and fitness levels.
“The Court’s judgement is that the club acted legally and appropriately and that this was not a case of unfair dismissal.
“The ruling ends a long procedure that began after the player’s post-pandemic return to the club, in which he arrived severely overweight.
“This was not rectified despite four disciplinary proceedings that were brought against him. The player had the opportunity to comply with the prescriptions and advice of the medical and nutrition staff in order to regain his fitness, but failure to do so on his own initiative resulted in him being dismissed.
“The professionalism of the club was ruled to be exemplary and remains faultless, establishing and reinforcing an important legal precedent for future similar cases.”
Gnagnon does not appeared to have improved his condition as he had the same problems at Saint-Etienne.
He signed on a free in November 2021 but was said to be so out of shape upon his arrival that one teammate thought he was a security guard.
It was claimed that he improved his fitness but Gnagnon did not make a single competitive appearance and left by mutual consent in May 2022.
Gnagnon, who once felt Virgil van Dijk's wrath following a shocking red card challenge on Liverpool youngster Yasser Larouci.