Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir wins landmark football maternity pay ruling

Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir won the Champions League with Lyon successful 2022

Iceland skipper Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir says winning a assertion against erstwhile broadside Lyon for failing to wage her afloat wage during gestation is simply a "wake-up call" for clubs.

Player's national Fifpro called it a "landmark" case.

"This is not 'just business'," said 32-year-old Gunnarsdottir aft the ruling was made nationalist connected Tuesday.

"This is astir my rights arsenic a worker, arsenic a pistillate and arsenic a quality being."

Writing successful the Player's Tribune, the midfielder, who is present astatine Juventus, added: "The triumph felt bigger than me. It felt similar a warrant of fiscal information for each players who privation to person a kid during their career. That it's not a 'maybe,' oregon an unknown.

"But I privation to marque definite nary 1 has to spell done what I went done ever again."

She besides tweeted: "This communicative is bigger than me! It's a aftermath up-call for each clubs."

Gunnarsdottir joined Lyon successful 2020 and won 2 Champions League titles astatine the nine earlier leaving for Juventus successful July 2022.

Since January 2021, Fifa rules authorities pistillate players are entitled to a minimum of 14 weeks' maternity permission astatine two-thirds of their salary.

The player, who fell large successful aboriginal 2021, agreed with Lyon she would instrumentality location to Iceland for the last stages of her gestation aft she was told by doctors that she should halt playing football.

Gunnarsdottir said she intended to instrumentality to Lyon but recovered that her payments stopped coming done erstwhile she was successful Iceland.

"I was entitled to my afloat wage during my gestation and until the commencement of my maternity leave, according to the mandatory regulations from Fifa," she added.

"These are portion of my rights, and this can't beryllium disputed, adjacent by a nine arsenic large arsenic Lyon."

Fifpro supported Gunnarsdottir successful her assertion and said: "We are pleased to person assisted her successful achieving the archetypal ruling of its benignant since Fifa's maternity regulations came into unit successful January 2021.

"It is highly important for women footballers and the women's crippled that these mandatory maternity regulations are some implemented and enforced astatine nationalist level."

Lyon said they "put everything successful spot to support" Gunnarsdottir during her gestation and instrumentality to top-level football, but added that they were pursuing French law, which they "have sometimes recovered excessively restrictive connected these subjects".

The nine said they are "proud" to person welcomed her backmost to Lyon aft maternity permission and that they "separated for purely sporting reasons".

Lyon indispensable wage Gunnarsdottir 82,094.82 euros - astir £72,139 - positive 5% involvement a twelvemonth from 10 September past twelvemonth until the indebtedness has been cleared.

World governing assemblage Fifa warned Lyon that if they did not wage wrong 45 days of the determination past they would beryllium fixed a transportation ban.