A recent ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in favor of Swedish defender Maja Gothberg has been hailed by player lawyers and legal experts as a milestone for women’s football and pregnancy-related contract termination.
CAS ruled earlier this month that Italian club Lazio Women had unlawfully terminated Gothberg’s employment after learning she was pregnant and ordered the club to pay damages, according to global players’ union FIFPRO.
The court also ruled that Gothberg’s pregnancy had been disclosed without her consent, setting a precedent regarding the confidentiality of pregnancy-related medical information.
The case dates back to the summer of 2024, after Gothberg helped Lazio gain promotion to the Italian top flight.
Although no new contract had been formally signed, CAS discovered that the player and the club had agreed through their communications on the essential terms of a renewed employment relationship.
Gothberg informed the club that she was pregnant before the deal was finalized, after which the relationship broke down. Lazio later argued that no contract existed, while Gothberg insisted the club withdrew from the agreement due to her pregnancy.
The dispute eventually reached CAS after an initial defeat for Gothberg before FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber. In its ruling, CAS concluded that Lazio had unlawfully harmed the player because of her pregnancy and awarded salary compensation and moral damages.
“This case was never just about football: it was about being treated fairly and with respect at an important time in my life,” Gothberg said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The ruling sends the message that pregnancy should never be treated as a problem or as a reason to deny a player employment opportunities.”
It is the first time that CAS has found that a football club has unlawfully terminated an employment relationship due to a player’s pregnancy. It is also one of the most important tests yet of FIFA’s maternity rules, which have been tightened in 2024.
CAS said the burden was on the club to prove its actions were not related to Gothberg’s pregnancy once an employment relationship was established and its termination. According to FIFPRO, the court ruled that Lazio had not done this.
The panel also ruled that information about a player’s pregnancy constitutes sensitive medical data and must be protected accordingly.
CAS found that Gothberg’s pregnancy had been disclosed without her consent after she informed the club, and awarded damages in relation to the breach.
“This case shows that FIFA’s maternity rules are not just words on paper and that they provide real protection for players,” FIFPRO legal director Alexandra Gomez Bruinewoud said in a statement.
“The significance of this ruling goes beyond Maja Gothberg and confirms that clubs cannot simply walk away from an employment relationship, even if not fully formalized, as soon as they learn that a player is pregnant.”
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The case follows the high-profile maternity dispute between Iceland international Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir and Olympique Lyonnais in 2022, which found players are entitled to contractual and salary protection during pregnancy.
The Gothberg decision extends these protections by confirming that clubs cannot avoid their maternity obligations by refusing to continue an employment relationship after learning that a player is pregnant, FIFPRO said.
According to FIFPRO, WhatsApp messages exchanged between Gothberg and Lazio played a central role in establishing both the existence of an employment relationship and the club’s awareness of her pregnancy, underscoring the importance of digital communication in football contract disputes.
Gothberg was assisted by the Swedish players’ union Spelarforeningen.
Published on June 24, 2026
