Ariel Ortega fined �9.5m by FIFA after breach of contract

Ortega pays price for walkout
Thursday, 26 June 2003
Argentinian international Ariel Ortega has been banned until the end of the year and fined �9.5m by FIFA for walking out on his former club Fenerbah�e SK.

Breached contract
Ortega was under contract to the Istanbul club until 2006 but quit on 13 February and missed the second part of the Turkish season. Fenerbah�e reported his departure to FIFA and the world governing body's Dispute Resolution Chamber ruled yesterday that he must pay compensation and also serve a suspension.

'Not eligible to play'
According to a FIFA statement, the 29-year-old is "not eligible to play for any club until 30 December 2003", although the ban does not extend to international football. Ortega was Fenerbah�e's showpiece signing of last summer, joining in a deal worth around �8m from CA River Plate.

Disagreements with team-mates
Ortega played 17 matches for the club, scoring five goals but now faces six months of inactivity. He has said he left the club because of disagreements with some of this team-mates. Fenerbah�e were his fourth European club, following short spells with Valencia CF, UC Sampdoria and Parma AC

uefa.com