“Did I just lose my job?” – Soccer superstar was denied salary while pregnant by owner worth $453 million, in shocking revelation

Talking about pregnancy still remains a taboo subject in sport. Women’s football is just starting to get the recognition it deserves. However, people still tend to stutter after finding out that a member of the women’s soccer team just got pregnant. Nevertheless, it is the duty and responsibility of the football club to take care of the player who needs it. Female footballers are now also encouraged to return to football after giving birth.

Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir has a similar story. However, the Icelandic football star surprisingly faced a lot of problems at her club while she was pregnant.

Lyon refused football star Sara her salary while she was pregnant!

During her first year in Lyon itself, Sara was living her dream. At that time, Jean-Michel Aulas was the President of the club. The Icelandic football star managed to win the French championship title and score the winning goal in the Champions League final in his very first season. However, things started to go off the rails after Sara became pregnant in March 2021.

Sara told her story in an exclusive interview with The Players’ Tribune.

At first, Sara was really worried about what her teammates would say. The doctor and physiotherapists of the Lyon team decided to keep it a secret. However, they could only do this for the first five weeks. Because as the pregnancy progressed, Sara’s health began to take its toll. She knew then it was time to let the cat out of the bag. To her surprise, everyone in Lyon was kind enough and granted Sarah permission to return home.

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However, Sara did not receive her salary for the first two months after returning home. After calling and writing several letters, Lyon’s response shocked everyone. They told Sara that they didn’t owe her any money other than her social security deposit. Sara then threatened to go to FIFA and report the problem. To which the club responded: “If Sara goes to FIFA with that, she has no future in Lyon.” Sarah was stunned after receiving the response. She said to herself, “Wait, did I just lose my job??”

Sara Bjorn wins against Lyon

However, Sara didn’t give up. She continued training and returned to the club in January 2022. Sarah eventually raised the issue with FIFPRO after the club failed to cooperate with her. Today, a historic ruling ordered the club to pay him €82,094.82. This is huge news for Sara.

In May, FIFPRO ordered Lyon to pay all the money they owed Sara while she was pregnant. Sara then announces that she will leave Lyon at the end of the season. Sarah now plays football in Italy for Juventus FC and is captain of the Iceland women’s national team.

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