The Russian Professional Football League (RFPL) have imposed a four-month ban on Dmitri Sychev for walking out on his contract with Spartak Moscow.
Last month the 18-year-old World Cup striker decided that he no longer wanted to play for Spartaktook advantage of a loophole in Russia’s labour law, which allows an employee to leave a job at any time provided he informs his employer two weeks in advance.
‘We found there was no evidence to support Sychev’s request to annul his contract with Spartak, thus we had no choice but to ban the player for four months,’ Vitor Marushchak, the head of the RFPL’s disciplinary committee said.
Sychev demanded his contract wiith Spartak be annulled after he accused the club of failing to pay ‘a guaranteed $10,000 signing bonus’.
Spartak, who denied making such a guarantee, sight a year-long ban on the player.
‘The club was asking for a 12-month ban, but yet again we have to go by what FIFA says the punishment must be in such cases,’ added Marushchak.
‘Of course, if Sychev and Spartak agreed to patch up their differences, we would lift the ban on the player.’
