Lyon respond to Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir pregnancy pay allegations

In an official communiqué from the club, Olympique Lyonnais have responded to an open letter posted yesterday inThe Players’ Tribune by former Lyon player Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir (32) who accused the club of withholding part of her salary whilst she was pregnant.

The letter was damning both on the part of the sporting director Vincent Ponsot and President Jean Michel-Aulas, who have long been lauded (the latter especially) for their roles in the development of Lyon as a powerhouse in woman’s’ football.

Lyon’s response evokes their status in the women’s game saying “the club has always been a leader in women’s football and in supporting athletes at all stages of their lives,”whilst they also claim to have respected French law, despite it being “restrictive on certain issues“, and have “actively campaigned for greater protection for players in these areas“.

Specifically in response to the revelations made by Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir, the club say that they “did everything possible” to support her during her maternity and return to the highest level of competition. They also say that at her request, they allowed her to take her maternity leave in Iceland, her country of origin. Upon her return to France, the club also claims “to have provided extensive support to encourage her return to competition and to live her new life as a mother in the best possible way”.

Finally, Lyon say they “welcome FIFA’s recent decision to establish a legal framework for players who have to go through maternity during their career.”

Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir, upon returning to Iceland for maternity leave, claimed that discovered that two of her pay-checks from Olympique Lyonnais had not been received. After bringing this to the attention of the club’s director through her agent, she received an apology and reimbursement for the missed payments.

However, the third payment was stated to be covered by French laws and the club no longer had any further obligation to pay her. This led to a difficult situation in which Gunnarsdóttir sought the assistance of FIFPRO and took her case to FIFA. During this time, she gave birth to her son and returned to France with her partner.

Despite her disappointment with the club, she wanted to focus on regaining fitness and playing again. However, she alleges that she faced resistance and was treated differently. This made her believe that her case was negatively affecting her relationship with the club.

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