Lazio women have been ordered to pay compensation to their former player Maja Gothberg after they were found to have unlawfully ended her time at the club due to her pregnancy.The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) awarded Gothberg over €69,000 (£59,500; $78,200) after Lazio ended their employment relationship with the 28-year-old following the disclosure of her pregnancy in the summer of 2024.FIFPro, the global union for professional footballers, described the case as “groundbreaking”, adding it “establishes an important precedent around the confidentiality of pregnancy-related medical information”. It said the case marked the first time CAS had awarded compensation to a player after finding a club had unlawfully ended an employment relationship due to pregnancy.Gothberg was a regular starter during Lazio’s 2023-24 promotion season to Serie A and the parties negotiated a new deal for 2024-25, although no final document was signed.Before the contract had been formally finalised, the former Sweden youth international discovered she was pregnant and informed Lazio. The club argued no contract existed because Gothberg had not signed the drafts and the agreement had not been filed with and approved by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).Gothberg was due in Rome on July 18 for medical tests and pre-season training, with Lazio arranging accommodation and airport collection. She did not travel after suffering nausea, fatigue and vomiting.The club cited Gothberg’s failure to travel to Rome and discussions involving Italian club Parma Calcio women as evidence she had withdrawn from the proposed contract. Parma had expressed interest, but messages showed her agent told the club to pursue another player.CAS rejected Lazio’s arguments, finding no convincing evidence that Gothberg’s agent had communicated an intention to end the agreement and ruling that a binding contract existed before the pregnancy was disclosed.The court cited the agreed financial terms between Gothberg and Lazio, two draft contracts, her inclusion in the squad WhatsApp group and arrangements for her return to Rome as why it considered the contract upheld.The panel ruled that the club had failed to prove its decision was unrelated to Gothberg’s pregnancy. In an award on 26 May 2026, CAS partially upheld Gothberg’s appeal and overturned a March 2025 decision by FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber dismissing her claim.The Sweden international sought €96,000 (£82,800; $108,900) for her employment termination and €32,000 (£27,600; $36,300) for disclosure of her pregnancy. CAS awarded €64,000 (£55,200; $72,700) — the value of the proposed one-year contract — plus five per cent interest from August 7, 2024.It also awarded €5,333 (£4,600; $6,000) gross for infringing her personality rights, with interest from July 21, 2024. The panel considered pregnancy sensitive medical information affecting Gothberg’s privacy and personal dignity.CAS declined to award an additional six months’ salary, citing the unsigned and unregistered contract, the case’s legal complexity and Lazio’s incorrect but “excusable” legal assessment and found no bad faith or maliciousness by the club.Lazio denied discrimination and that any staff member had disclosed the pregnancy, but CAS found an assistant coach had told players without Gothberg’s consent, breaching the club’s duty to protect her medical information.“This case was never only about football,” Gothberg said. “It was about being treated fairly and with respect at an important moment in my life.”“This case shows that FIFA’s Maternity Regulations are not just words on paper and that they provide real protections for players,” FIFPro’s legal director Alexandra Gomez Bruinewoud added.“The significance of this ruling goes beyond Maja Gothberg and confirms clubs cannot simply walk away from an employment relationship, even if this is not fully formalised, once they learn a player is pregnant. ”Jun 24, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms