Player awarded back pay from Lyon over maternity leave

By ANNE M. PETERSON
AP Sports Writer

Midfielder Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir has been awarded more than $88,000 in back pay that was withheld by her French club team, Lyon, in violation of FIFA’s rules protecting maternity rights. Gunnarsdóttir, who now plays for Juventus in Italy, wrote her account of the salary dispute for The Players’ Tribune website and the details of the ruling by FIFA’s Football Tribunal were made public this week. According to FIFPro, which represented Gunnarsdóttir in the matter, the case is the first to test FIFA rules protecting players’ maternity rights that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2021.