Protecting pregnant players: Lessons from the CAS Award in Maja Göthberg v Lazio Women (CAS 2025/A/11527)

On^[1] 26 May 2026, a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) panel ordered Lazio Women to pay compensation to footballer Maja Göthberg^[2] for:

• unlawfully terminating her contract due to pregnancy in breach of Article 18quater of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players^[3] (RSTP), and
• unlawfully disclosing her pregnancy in breach of the Swiss Civil Code^[4].

The case was heard as an appeal from the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber, which had dismissed Ms Göthberg’s claim.

The case is of significance because it is the first time^[5] that a CAS panel has found that a football club unlawfully ended an employment relationship with a female footballer because the player was pregnant. It applies Article 18quater of the RSTP, which are the pregnancy, adoption and family-leave protections introduced by FIFA in 2021 and strengthened in 2024. It takes maternity-related case law a step beyond the Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir decision (please see this article on LawInSport for more information on this case^[6]), which concerned a player's pay during pregnancy rather than the loss of the employment relationship itself.

The ruling shows that:

1. a club cannot just walk away from an employment relationship once they learn that a player is pregnant, even if it has not yet been formalised;
2. a club can be bound by a contract it never signed or registered;
3. denying that a contract exists can itself amount to termination;
4. it is for the club to prove that the termination was not because of the pregnancy;
5. the protections under the FIFA RSTP are read widely; and
6. the fact of a player's pregnancy constitutes sensitive medical information, which must be kept confidential even without an express request.

Table of Contents:

• Factual background
• The claim before CAS
• The issues to be determined
• Relevant provisions of the RSTP
• The CAS Award
  • Did a binding employment contract exist?
  • Did the Club unilaterally terminate the contract?
  • Was the termination of the contract due to pregnancy?
  • What compensation was payable due to the contractual termination?
  • Was Ms Göthberg entitled to compensation as a result of an unlawful disclosure of her pregnancy by the Club?
• Commentary, key takeaways & a change to the 2027 RSTP