Corinthians hit with five FIFA sanctions: here’s what each one means | OneFootball

The Corinthians were condemned by FIFA for a debt with the Philadelphia Union, from the United States, for the acquisition of midfielder José Martínez. This is the fifth condemnation of the club by the highest football authority.

Already prohibited from registering new players due to an issue involving Félix Torres, Timão also received a condemnation from CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport), FIFA's last instance, regarding the Matías Rojas case, which demands more than R$ 40 million. Additionally, there are two other cases under the body's judgment, with only the final sentence remaining.

(Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians)

Below, Gazeta Esportiva detailed each of the five condemnations of Corinthians. Check it out:

Félix Torres Case

The debt of Corinthians with Santos Laguna, from Mexico, for the signing of defender Félix Torres, is approximately R$ 34 million. With interest, the debt amount reached R$ 40 million.

FIFA condemned the club to pay the debt in October of last year. Timão appealed to CAS but was unsuccessful. Santos Laguna claims that Alvinegro only paid one installment of the operation carried out at the beginning of last year, in the early days of Augusto Melo's management.

The transfer ban was therefore applied. In financial crisis and without resources to solve the problem upfront, Corinthians made more than one proposal to try to reach an agreement with the Mexicans. However, the club remains inflexible.

Timão offered 70% upfront of the total debt and the remainder in installments. However, Santos Laguna insists on at least 90%. Without resolution, the transfer ban has been in effect for over a month.

Rojas Case

In the case of Matías Rojas, the Paraguayan demands amounts related to image rights. The original debt was R$ 40.4 million, but with indemnity and interest, it increased to R$ 45 million.

Rojas terminated the contract with Corinthians at the end of February last year through a clause inserted in the renewal of the agreement, in January, for payment of overdue amounts. The clause in question gave Rojas the freedom to leave Timão if the club failed to make the payment. And so it happened.

(Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians)

Corinthians parceled Rojas' debt, but by February, they did not pay the second installment. The player then activated the clause and never appeared at CT Joaquim Grava again.

Besides the clause related to default, in the same debt renewal, Corinthians also accepted a mitigation clause. In practice, this means that Rojas gained the possibility to claim all contract amounts with the club, both past debt and what he would still receive until 2027.

Condemned by CAS, Timão has about 45 days to reach an agreement with the athlete and avoid a new transfer ban. In his case, however, the lawyer of Matías Rojas showed willingness to negotiate with the Alvinegro board and reach a consensus. Talks are expected to progress in the coming weeks.

Garro Case

The debt of R$ 23.3 million with Talleres, from Argentina, for the signing of midfielder Rodrigo Garro, has not yet been defined by CAS, only FIFA's condemnation. The expectation is that the final sentence will be announced soon.

In this case, Corinthians signed an agreement for the acquisition of 80% of Garro's economic rights, with payments scheduled in installments over the coming years.

In 2024, at the beginning of Augusto Melo's term, Timão's management deposited US$ 4 million gross into the Argentine club's account, which in turn requested that the amount be paid in net form, without tax deductions, and appealed to FIFA, claiming the difference in the amount, as well as a fine and early maturity of the remaining installments.

In this process, Corinthians was condemned to pay US$ 3,612,000, plus 18% annual interest as follows:

Additionally, FIFA added a fine of US$ 722,400.

Recently, in contact with Gazeta Esportiva, Talleres' president, Andrés Fassi, expressed irritation over the non-payment of the debt involving Garro and rejected any possibility of an agreement.

(Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians)

Maycon Case

Regarding Maycon, Shakhtar Donetsk, from Ukraine, demands 1 million euros (R$ 6.5 million at the current exchange rate) for the player's loan to Corinthians. Like the Garro case, this is still under review by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The amount refers to Corinthians' delays in paying the loan renewals for the midfielder. The first occurred between December 2022 and December 2023, and the second took place at the beginning of 2024, lasting until the end of the same year.

Martínez Case

The case of José Martínez was the last to be revealed. Corinthians did not pay US$ 1.5 million (about R$ 9 million at the current exchange rate) to Philadelphia Union, from the United States, for the signing of the midfielder, and has already been condemned by FIFA.

Timão signed with Martínez in August 2024, during Augusto Melo's management. At the time, the Alvinegro board committed to paying US$ 1.8 million (R$ 10 million) to the North American club.

Corinthians paid US$ 200,000 upfront, as a down payment, but did not deposit the remaining installments. As a result, all installments became due at once.

Philadelphia Union appealed to FIFA, which condemned Timão to pay the amount. However, the Alvinegro team appealed to CAS and awaits the final decision.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.