Bomb at CFR Cluj! Ioan Varga must pay a fortune to the player thrown overboard by Dan Petrescu: “Abusive treatment, clearly illegal”
Article by Justin Gafiuc – Published Tuesday, 09 June 2026, 23:18 / Updated Tuesday, 09 June 2026 23:18
FIFA, through the Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC), decided that the Transylvanian group must pay 612,666.63 euros to Alessandro Micai, the Italian goalkeeper who played only two matches for CFR, in July/August 2025. The decision is not final, as it can be challenged at CAS. How it got here, in the story below
Being in a transfer ban due to 14 complaints entered on the FIFA agenda, CFR Cluj has already found itself with a difficult litigation lost in the first phase at the international forum.
It is about a trial with Alessandro Micai, the 32-year-old goalkeeper transferred in the summer of 2025 and then quickly released, in January 2026. The Italian claimed major financial arrears and the application of abusive treatment by the club, themes by virtue of which he won the case at the Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC)!
Two games for CFR, then completely disappeared from the landscape
Alessandro Micai had a very short experience at CFR Cluj. Photo: Flaviu Buboi / sportpictures.eu
On time, Micai played only two games for CFR: 2-1 with Slobozia and 3-3 with FC Botoșani. After the match with the Moldovans, his performance was criticized, the first two goals conceded were attributed to him, and Dan Petrescu, who was still on the Transylvanian bench at that time, on August 18, 2025, announced that he no longer needed him.
It was just a week before Hacken's 2-7 Conference League playoff disaster led to the Badger's resignation. However, the club kept the option to give up Micai, who only found a team in January 2026, when he signed in Serie B with Reggiana.
In the meantime, he didn't even appear on the game sheet at CFR's games, being completely removed from the calculations of the season.
Contract termination for “just cause”: FIFA was right
The passage from the FIFA decision that gives satisfaction to Alessandro Micai in the trial with CFR Cluj
Alessandro Micai appealed to FIFA at the end of last year, complaining that he had not received any money from July until November 11, when he requested the unilateral termination of the commitment.
He invoked Article 14 bis of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfers of Players, which gives footballers the right to terminate their contracts for “just cause” if they are not paid by the club. This without incurring sanctions or compensation for the unilateral termination of relations with the employer. In addition, he can demand full payment of the contract.
This is exactly the strategy that Micah approached. And he won in the first phase at DRC, which established that the Italian has to receive from CFR Cluj the sum of 612,666.63 euros!
20,000 euro/month contract: CFR transferred some money to him only after the deal was broken
Dan Petrescu brought Micai to CFR in the summer of 2025 and “ex-matriculated” him last August, shortly before he resigned. Photo: Imago Images
The goalkeeper had a three-year contract with CFR Cluj and a salary of 20,000 euros per month in the first two seasons, and in the last – 18,333 euros per month.
After the termination, the club would have transferred about 80,000 euros to him, just the daily payments, so that it falls within the licensing criteria and remains within reasonable limits regarding monitoring in the area of financial fair play.
Since then, no money would have entered the accounts of the player, who now obtains a first victory in the dispute with CFR. However, the verdict is not definitive, and can be appealed to the CAS.
Micai's lawyer: “We requested that Regianna's wages not be deducted”
Sabin Gherdan defends Alessandro Micai in the dispute with CFR Cluj
Sabin Gherdan is Micai's lawyer in the dispute with Cluj. He confirmed for GSP that “FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber ordered CFR Cluj to pay compensatory wages, in the amount of EUR 612,666.63, to Alessandro Micai. We requested that the wages that Micai earned at Reggiana in the second part of the season not be deducted from this amount.”
And he explained: “There is this special hypothesis, only in the situation where the athlete receives treatment below FIFA standards. In English, the term is known as “egregious circumstances”, i.e. aggravating circumstances, and refers to situations that involve abusive treatment, obviously illegal. Our arguments apparently proved that the athlete is entitled to additional compensation as a result of these treatments endured while he was in Cluj-Napoca.”
The financier of CFR Cluj, Nelutu Varga, and the president Iuliu Mureșan could not be contacted for a point of view.
