Mutu took his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) but they upheld Fifa’s ruling. However, the player himself insists he cannot pay such a large sum (it is in fact the highest fne ever levied by FIFA) and has now written to Fifa president Sepp Blatter and Chelsea with his offer of a large charitable donation in place of the fine.
He said: “I can’t pay that kind of money and it’s not a question of desire but one of understanding and rationale.
“I propose to make a significant donation to a charitable association in Florence or elsewhere that looks after children with problems related to substance abuse and to make another donation to a charity chosen by Chelsea in London or in England and the same in my country, Romania.”
Personally I’m inclined to think this is a better solution for everyone involved, except Chelsea I suppose. Mutu just can’t afford to pay that large sum, of that I don’t doubt and I’m sure Chelsea can manage without the money which, presumably, would be paid in installments over a large number of years. Helping out substance abuse charities seems like a much more realistic and worthwhile way for his fine to be used and it also has relevance to his case.
On a slightly different tangent it is good to see Mutu getting on with his career in Italy. I was very impressed when he first moved to Chelsea but after his positive drug test and subsequent ban I wouldn’t have gone betting
