GENEVA (AP) — Millions of dollars due to soccer club CSKA Moscow from West Ham will stay unpaid while financial sanctions are imposed by the British government during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
CSKA said on Friday it could file an appeal with Switzerland’s supreme court in the three-year financial dispute over the 26.7 million euros ($30.8 million) transfer deal for Croatia midfielder Nikola Vlašić.
A Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling in the case, further stalling payments owed by West Ham, is “essentially an indefinite deferment plan for the English club,” CSKA Moscow said in a statement.
West Ham must pay the outstanding money only when it can get a license from the British government or the sanctions regime is amended, the CAS judges ruled. They also overturned a FIFA order that West Ham should be liable for 5% interest since 2022 on the money.
West Ham appealed to CAS challenging a FIFA order in 2023 to pay CSKA a second contracted part of the transfer fee or face a ban on registering newly signed players.
The Premier League club signed Vlašić in 2021 and a second payment of 8.55 million euros ($9.9 million) was due in July 2022.
That was five months after Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine led the British government to impose financial sanctions including against CSKA’s then-owner, the VEB bank, and the club's account holder.
West Ham has argued since 2022 it was “faced with the impossibility” of sending money to Russia without committing a crime.
However, FIFA judges ruled in 2023 that West Ham did not prove it was impossible to make the payment.
At the CAS hearing, FIFA told the panel of three judges it was unable to create and oversee an escrow account that West Ham could pay into.
The CAS panel ruled by a 2-1 majority for West Ham that “no alternative legal routes were available to pay CSKA at that time.”
The 27-year-old Vlašić played one season for West Ham which later sold him to Torino for almost 13 million euros ($15 million).
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Liverpool's goalkeeper Alisson falls on the ground as West Ham's Nikola Vlasic, right, makes an unsuccessful attempt to score a goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and West Ham United at Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, Saturday, March 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Jon Super, file)
NEW YORK (AP) — Robbed an inning earlier, Cody Bellinger wasn't sure his first three-homer game had been swiped away again.
“I didn't know at first,” he said. “For that third one to finally get over feels pretty good.”
Bellinger hit three two-run homers against his former team and was denied a fourth by a spectacular catch, leading the Yankees to an 11-0 rout of the Chicago Cubs on Friday night.
Aaron Judge made a trio of outstanding grabs in right field for the Yankees, who have won fifth straight games following a a six-game losing streak.
Bellinger, whose dad Clay played for the Yankees from 1999 to 2001, is a two-time All-Star and 2019 NL MVP.
He spent 2023 and ’24 with the Cubs, hitting .266 with 18 homers and 78 RBIs in 130 games last year while missing time because of a broken right rib. The Cubs traded him to New York in December with $52.5 million remaining on his contract and agreed to pay the Yankees $5 million.
He homered in a three-run third off Chris Flexen and in the fifth against Caleb Thielbar for this 18th multi-homer game. Bellinger nearly went deep in the seventh but was robbed by Kyle Tucker on a drive above the right-field wall.
“I was watching it. He timed it up perfect, so I was a little sick about it, honestly,” Bellinger said. “But it was a good catch.”
“Boys were giving me a hard time after he robbed it. Boonie was giving me hard time,” Bellinger added.
A four-time All-Star and a Gold Glove winner, Tucker snatched the ball as a fan tried for it, the spectator clasping both sides of the outfielder's glove.
“I caught the ball and he caught my glove, so I figured even if I dropped it they’d probably look at it and get it overturned," Tucker said. "I’ve probably had some encounters with me trying to go into the stands and catching a ball and me hitting someone’s hand or whatever but I don’t know if anyone’s ever actually kind of caught my glove while doing it.”
Bellinger homered in the eighth off Jordan Wicks, just above the red glove of leaping center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and into the dark glove of a kid in the front row.
“The fan just beat to the spot," Crow-Armstrong said. "He just had a better chance of catching it higher than I did.”
Bellinger, who had rounded first, watched and then smiled when he saw he had hit No. 3.
“Glad the fan caught it before PCA could grab it,” said Bellinger, who met the boy after and got the ball back. “I’ve seen PCA rob so many homers. He’s a freak athlete out there.”
Bellinger is batting .406 over a career-high 16-game hitting streak, raising his average to .285 with 16 homers and 54 RBIs.
He had spoken with his Cubs ex-teammates during batting practice.
“No, no, no revenge,” he said. “Honestly, ultimately it was just fun to be out there. I saw a bunch of guys I hadn’t seen in a while and I shared a bunch of good memories with them for these past two years.”
Jazz Chisholm Jr. and manager Aaron Boone encouraged Bellinger to emerge from the dugout for a curtain call.
“He was a little reluctant, but then the Bell-lin-ger” over the dugout got pretty loud. So I think he succumbed to it," Boone said. “Belly’s loved being here and loved playing here in a meaningful place to him, going back to his childhood."
Bellinger turns 30 on Sunday and can opt out of the final season of his contract this fall. With long balls and wide smiles, he seems to have found a home in the Yankees clubhouse.
He tried not to make much of getting the three homers against the Cubs, but Bellinger's teammates could sense the significance.
“It’s always good to go against your old teammates that you spend a lot of time with, you know, you respect,” Boone said. “To perform right away against them I’m sure probably is a little cherry on top for him.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger (35) hits a home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, July 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger reacts after lining out during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, July 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger hits a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, July 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger hits a home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, July 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger hits a home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, July 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
