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In the Italian "Serie A" championship, a club occupying the ninth place can relax a bit - the final decision in the dispute with "Auxerre" over defender Philippe Mexes's transfer was more favorable than the FIFA punishment, so the capital team will be able to strengthen with new players in the summer of 2006.
A year and a half ago, P. Mexes moved to the "Roma" team from "Auxerre" without the consent of the latter club. The player claimed that he was allowed to transfer for the contractual payment of 4 million euros, but the French club disputed this fact and appealed to FIFA.
After considering the situation, FIFA decided to ban "Roma" from buying new players for one year, suspended P. Mexes for six weeks, and ordered to pay a compensation of 8 million euros to the "Auxerre" team. However, the leaders of the Italian club turned to the Court of Arbitration for Sport - which started to review the case and suspended the punishment on August 8.
This week, the court finally made a decision, and although the verdict stated that "Roma" "not only encouraged Mexes to terminate the contract with Auxerre, but also actively provoked the termination", the punishment was mitigated - the Italian club will be prohibited from strengthening with new players during the "transfer window" in January and will have to pay 7 million euros to the "Auxerre" club.
