Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Hakan Çalhanoğlu has been banned for four months by FIFA for a contract dispute. The official ruling is stated as breach of contract. The claim was lodged with FIFA by Turkish club Trabzonspor.
Hakan Çalhanoğlu Banned For Four Months
The dispute with Trabzonspor stemmed from Çalhanoğlu reportedly agreeing to sign with the Turkish side back in 2011, but backed out in favor of a stay in Germany. The claim was to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where FIFA decided to rule in favor of Trabzonspor.
Çalhanoğlu, 22, will now miss the remainder of the season and will also have to pay a fine to Trabzonspor of a total of €100,000. This is a tough ruling for a young and promising midfielder, and in turn is punishment to Leverkusen as well.
The odd fact of this whole incident is that Çalhanoğlu was not even a member of the Leverkusen squad at the time of the dispute. When he agreed to join Trabzonspor, and ultimately backed out, he was a member of Karlsruhe. He then left Karlsruhe for Hamburg in 2013, and then moved on to Leverkusen in 2014.
The young Turkish international has been phenomenal for Leverkusen since joining them in 2014. This season Çalhanoğlu has seven goals and seven assists across 21 appearances in the Bundesliga and the UEFA Champions League. Çalhanoğlu is also averaging 1.6 tackles and 1.2 interceptions in the Bundesliga, as well as 1.3 tackles and 1.3 interceptions in the Champions League.
Not only will the ban see Çalhanoğlu miss the remainder of the Bundesliga season, but he will miss the Champions League matches against Atlético Madrid, as well as Turkey’s World Cup Qualifying match against Finland in March.
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