Albert Riera announced that FIFA ruled in his favor, now Ljubljana’s Olimpija has spoken out and presented its side of the story

Published on 10. May 2024 10. May 2024

Photo: Blaž Weindorfer / Sportida

The club brought a double crown but left as “persona non grata.” Albert Riera is currently the “enemy of the club” from Ljubljana, ultimately suing Olimpija in the courtrooms of the International Football Association (FIFA). The Spaniard informed the public this week that FIFA ruled in his favor, but now Olimpija has also spoken out and presented its side of the story.

Statement from NK Olimpija Ljubljana:

In connection with the proceedings conducted before FIFA between NK Olimpija and Albert Riera and the related media reports, the club provides the following clarification.

The media publications do not contain comprehensive facts and circumstances of the matter, creating an untrue perception of the club’s operations and its leadership, to which the club is obliged to respond.

Two different proceedings took place before FIFA between NK Olimpija and Albert Riera.

In the first proceeding, NK Olimpija as the plaintiff filed a lawsuit against Albert Riera as the defendant in 2023 due to the absence of claims. At that time, Albert Riera demanded payment from NK Olimpija for bonuses amounting to EUR 22,300, which NK Olimpija fully paid. However, Albert Riera, contrary to the provisions of the Contract and without a basis in the Contract, unjustifiably issued an invoice and demanded payment of “additional costs” in the amount of EUR 16,461.01. The club rejected such demand, and Albert Riera did not object to the rejection nor insisted on payment, thereby confirming the groundlessness of his claims. In 2023, the club also submitted these disputed demands of Albert Riera for assessment to FIFA and UEFA, where neither FIFA nor UEFA found any violations by the club in this regard. Statements made by NK Olimpija and its representatives in the media in October 2023 related to the above-described demands of Albert Riera were therefore made entirely in accordance with the factual situation of the matter.

Read also

The second proceeding before FIFA commenced based on a lawsuit filed by the plaintiff Albert Riera against NK Olimpija in 2024, in which Albert Riera initially demanded payment from NK Olimpija in the total amount of EUR 34,300 with interest. However, during the proceeding, Albert Riera admitted that his claim in a larger part, namely in the amount of EUR 22,300 with interest, was entirely unfounded and withdrew the lawsuit in this part before the issuance of the FIFA decision. Albert Riera thus partially succeeded, namely with a smaller part of the claim amounting to approximately one-third of the requested amount. This part concerns an amount that the club did not pay because it offset it with its counterclaims against Albert Riera for the payment of fines imposed due to insulting, racist, and discriminatory statements and unsportsmanlike behavior during his tenure at NK Olimpija (incident during a match in Koper and media statements by Albert Riera detrimental to the club he coached), emphasizing that these fines were imposed on Albert Riera not only by the club but also by the Football Association of Slovenia (NZS), as zero tolerance is applied to such behavior in football.

The explanation of the FIFA decision is not yet known, so the reasons why FIFA rejected these claims are also unknown, which will all be the subject of further proceedings. We emphasize that the FIFA decision issued in May 2024 is not final. NK Olimpija will, of course, fully respect the final FIFA decision as always.
NK Olimpija Ljubljana

This text was automatically translated using AI.

Author: editorial Football Planet