18 January 2023 , 10:15
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Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir has called on clubs to provide full maternity pay to all female footballers after winning a tribunal case against former club Lyon.
The French giants were ordered to pay women's star Gunnarsdottir, 32, €82,000 (£72,000) in unpaid wages following a FIFA tribunal case last May. Details of the "landmark" case - as it has been described by global players' union FIFPro - were made public on Tuesday.
Gunnarsdottir is the captain of Iceland and has won trophies in three different counties - including two Champions Leagues. She was playing for Lyon when she announced her pregnancy in April 2021 but completed a move to Juventus last summer.
Gunnarsdottir has revealed her battle in an article for The Players' Tribune. "I’m at Juventus now, and I’m very happy," she wrote. "But I want to make sure no one has to go through what I went through ever again. And I want Lyon to know this is not OK."
The midfielder joined Lyon from German side Wolfsburg in the summer of 2020 and played regularly before the latter stages of her pregnancy. She returned to her native Iceland for the birth, where she noticed her wages were not hitting her bank account.
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As per FIFA's rules, players are entitled to a minimum of 14 weeks' maternity leave at two-third of their salary. Yet Lyon - one of the biggest clubs in the women's game - did not adhere to these rules and forced Gunnarsdottir to seek an gruelling tribunal.
Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir announced her pregnancy in April 2021 (Instagram/@sarabjork90)
The Iceland international was playing for Lyon at the time (Getty Images)What do you make of Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir's tribunal case? Let us know in the comments below!
Gunnarsdottir and FIFPro now hope female players will not need to go through a similar ordeal in the future. She added: "The victory felt bigger than me. It felt like a guarantee of financial security for all players who want to have a child during their career.
"That it's not a 'maybe,' or an unknown. But I want to make sure no one has to go through what I went through ever again."
Lyon insisted they "put everything in place to support" Gunnarsdottir during her pregnancy and were "proud" to have welcomed her back to the pitch last March.
FIFPro, meanwhile, added: "We are pleased to have assisted her in achieving the first ruling of its kind since Fifa's maternity regulations came into force in January 2021. It is extremely important for women footballers and the women's game that these mandatory maternity regulations are both implemented and enforced at national level."
Gunnarsdottir also wants the "overall culture" of professional football to change to make it more inclusive. She added: "This is not 'just business'. This is about my rights as a worker, as a woman and as a human being. I’m very hopeful about the women's game.
"There’s a lot to celebrate. The facilities? The investment? The level? The fans filling up the stadium? We’ve come so far. That’s undeniable. But the reality is, when it comes to the overall culture? There’s a lot more work to do. We deserve better."
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