Leeds United’s appeal against an award of £24.5million ($31m) in compensation to their former striker Jean-Kevin Augustin has been withdrawn from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
CAS confirmed to The Athletic that Leeds’ bid to contest an order from FIFA that they pay an eight-figure sum to Augustin over his aborted transfer to Elland Road in 2020 would not be ruled upon by its judiciary.
FIFA ruled in March 2023 that Leeds were liable for £24.5m owed to Augustin after partially accepting a claim from the former Paris Saint-Germain player that the English club were in breach of a contract agreed with him.
The dispute related to Augustin’s loan from RB Leipzig to United in January 2020, a transfer which was completed while Leeds were in the Championship.
Leeds and Leipzig negotiated an obligation clause stating that the move would become permanent for £18m if Leeds were promoted to the Premier League at the end of the 2019-20 season.
Despite duly winning promotion, Augustin appeared for just 48 first-team minutes and rapidly fell out of favour with then head coach Marcelo Bielsa.
Leeds declined to make the move for Augustin permanent (George Wood/Getty Images)
Leeds pulled out of a permanent deal, claiming a delay to the season’s finishing date caused by the COVID-19 pandemic had seen their clause with Leipzig elapse.
Leipzig lodged a successful complaint with FIFA and saw their claim for compensation upheld during a subsequent appeal by Leeds to CAS. They and United eventually agreed a final settlement of £15 million in December 2022.
Augustin, however, submitted a separate claim for compensation to FIFA. Documents published by the world governing body show that he negotiated a five-year contract with Leeds worth £93,000 a week, plus a total signing-on fee of £2.5m.
Last year, FIFA found partially in his favour, awarding him £24.5 million. Leeds tabled an appeal with CAS again but that process has ended prematurely without a further ruling.
A statement from CAS given to The Athletic read: “The appeal in the arbitration CAS 2023/A/9616 Leeds United v Jean-Kevin Augustin, against the decision issued on 30 March 2023 by FIFA Football Tribunal Dispute Resolution Chamber (FPSD-6567), was withdrawn.”
It is not clear whether the withdrawal of the appeal has seen Leeds commit to paying Augustin the full amount awarded to him.
The club were asked by The Athletic why the appeal had been withdrawn and whether they were facing the original bill of £24.5m. They declined to comment.
Augustin’s agent had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication. FIFA also declined to comment.
The forward eventually joined French side Nantes in 2020 and is currently under contract with Basel in Switzerland.
GO DEEPER
Jean-Kevin Augustin: £18m hanging on the forward who became nobody’s player
(Alex Dodd – CameraSport via Getty Images)
