The Blues last night said it was 'an important decision for football' after FIFA ordered Adrian Mutu to pay the club £13.68million in compensation after being tested positive for cocaine while at Chelsea.Mutu, 29, failed a drug test in 2004 and was banned for seven months before moving to Juventus and Fiorentina after getting sacked.
Mutu's lawyer, Cristian Sarbu, claimed earlier in this year that his client was told to pay £9.6million by FIFA and that the Romanian striker would be contesting the ruling.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport had ordered FIFA to make a ruling and the case was referred to the Dispute Resolution Chamber of the world governing body.
'Chelsea can confirm that it has received the decision from FIFA's Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) on the claim made against Adrian Mutu,' read a statement from Chelsea.
'Chelsea is delighted with the DRC's decision to award the club £13.68million in compensation.'
Mutu was signed in 2003 soon after Roman Abramovich's became owner of the club and had a promising start at Stamford Bridge before a loss of form. After his dismissal, Chelsea began proceedings to claim damages from the player, who was signed from Parma.
Their statement added: 'This is an important decision for football. Not only did the DRC make us a very significant monetary award, the decision also recognised the damaging effect incidents involving drugs has on football and the responsibilities we all have in this area.
'Chelsea will now be following the process laid out in the DRC's decision to claim the money from Mutu.'
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