Lazio lose landmark case over pregnancy and unlawful employment termination

Lazio Women must pay former player Maja Gothberg over €69,000 compensation after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled they unlawfully terminated her contract due to pregnancy.

This is considered to be a landmark case in the world of women’s football, and Lazio will therefore have an unfortunate place in the history books.

Gothberg had disclosed her pregnancy in the summer of 2024 and Lazio had negotiated a new contract with her for the 2024-25 season, but it was never signed.

She argued this was because the club backed out due to her pregnancy, and the CAS agreed with them today.

The 28-year-old had been expected in Rome on July 18 for routine medical tests and pre-season training, but did not travel on the precise date due to nausea, fatigue and vomiting.

Lazio claimed that her failure to travel meant that she had withdrawn from the proposed contract.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected their argument that Gothberg’s agent had been in talks with Parma, showing messages telling the Stadio Tardini side that they were not available for transfer.

It was therefore considered to be a binding contract in existence before the pregnancy was disclosed.

FIFPro, the union for all professional football players, said this “groundbreaking” ruling “establishes an important precedent around the confidentiality of pregnancy-related medical information.”

It was the first time ever that the CAS had awarded compensation to a player for unlawfully ending an employment relationship due to pregnancy.