FC Utrecht has reached an agreement with Olympique Lyonnais and UEFA in the arbitration case surrounding the drafting of the ineligible Rachid Ghezzal. The winger joined the French team at the end of September as a substitute on the field in the Europa League match in the Galgenwaard.
The Utrecht team lost the opening game in the competition phase of the second European club tournament 1-0. The assist for goalscorer Tanner Tessmann came from Ghezzal. FC Utrecht later reported the irregularity to the European football association UEFA.
The matter has been referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for a second time, but pending a ruling, the parties involved have already reached a solution. The procedure at the CAS has been ended and FC Utrecht will receive financial compensation. The amount of compensation has not been announced by the clubs.
Lyonnais is first in the competition phase of the Europa League with one round to go and is already assured of the eighth finals. FC Utrecht, which visits the Scottish Celtic on Thursday, has only collected one point and no longer has a chance of a European sequel.
