Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir: Iceland football captain wins football maternity pay ruling against former side Lyon

The Iceland midfielder Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir has won an historic pay ruling in the world of football against her former club, Lyon, who did not pay their midfielder her full salary while on maternity leave.

In May 2022, a FIFA tribunal ordered the French Ligue 1 side to pay the unpaid salaries of more than £72,000 (€82,000) plus 5% interest a year from 10 September last year until the debt has been cleared.

The 32-year-old, who became pregnant in 2021, agreed with her then club that she would return home to Iceland for the final stages of her pregnancy after she was told by doctors that she should stop playing football. Gunnarsdottir had said she intended to return to Lyon but found her payments stopped coming through when she was in Iceland.

Since January 2021, FIFA rules now state that female players are entitled to a minimum of 14 weeks’ maternity leave at two-thirds of their salary. The Player’s Union Fifpro have called it a ‘landmark’ case, and the governing body have warned Lyon that if they do not pay Gunnarsdotti, who is now at Juventus, within 45 days of the decision then they would be given a transfer ban.

Who is Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir?

The Icelandic footballer was born in 1990 and first played football at her local team, Haukar, at the age of six. She remained her until she was 18 before spending three seasons with Breioablik. In 2011, she left Iceland after signing a three-year contract with Swedish club LdB FC Malmo and was an immediate success, contributing 12 goals as Malmo won the Damallsvenskan title.

In May 2016, the midfielder joined VfL Wolfsburg, making 63 league appearances in her four years at the side. In her four years with the club, Wolfsburg won the Frauen-Bundesliga and German Cup.

Gunnarsdottir then went to Olympique Lyonnais in 2020 and won her first title with the club when they defeated PSG in the Coupe de France after penalties. December later that year, she was named the Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year, becoming the first woman to win it twice.

In April 2021, Gunnarsdottir announced she was pregnant and returned to the pitch the following March before confirming she would leave to join Juventus in July 2022.

The midfielder has been part of her country’s national squad since U-17 level and has since played in the UEFA Women’s Euro 2009 finals and UEFA Women’s Euro 2013. The Iceland captain has played 139 matches for her country, scoring 22 goals.

What’s been said?

Writing in the Player’s Tribune, the midfielder said “This is not ‘just business’. This is about my rights as a worker, as a woma and as a human being. The victory felt bigger than me. It felt like a guarantee of financial security for all players who want to have a child during their career. That it’s not a ‘maybe’ or an unknown. But I want to make sure no one has to go through what I went through ever again.”

The 32-year-old star also tweeted: “This story is bigger than me! It’s a wake-up call for clubs.”

Gunnarsdottir added “I was entitled to my full salary during my pregnancy and until the start of my maternity leave, according to the mandatory regulations from FIFA. These are part of my rights, and this can’t be disputed, even by a club as big as Lyon.”

Fifpro, the player’s union said: “We are pleased to have assisted her in achieving the first ruling of its kind since Fifa’s maternity regulations came into force in January 2021. It is extemely important for women footballers and the women’s game that these mandatory maternity regulations are both implemented and enforced at national level”

Her former club, Lyon, said they “put everything in place to support” their midfielder during her pregnancy and subsequent return to top-level football, but also added they were following French law, which they “have sometimes found too restrictive on these subjects.”

The club also said they are “proud” to have welcomed her back to Lyon after maternity levae and that they “separated for purely sporting reasons.”