Club statement: Jaka Čuber Potočnik – 1. FC Cologne

We would like to inform the public that NK Olimpija has won a lawsuit that should never have happened.

Why?

The young player was apparently encouraged by FC Cologne to terminate his contract. The question has never been asked how a player who already has a professional contract can even move to Cologne. Which people were additionally involved and convinced the boy to terminate the contract?

When the management was informed that Jaka Čuber Potočnik wanted to transfer, contact was immediatly established with FC Cologne one day before the transfer deadline. A brief correspondence followed and the agreement with the player was terminated without prior notice. The suspension was signed by the player and his mother. The next day FC Cologne announced that the great Slovenian talent had signed a contract with the club. This forced NK Olimpija Ljubljana to take legal action and seek legal advice.

We have contacted FC Cologne Director Mr. Christian Keller. President Adam Delius and Vice-President Dr Dollinger travelled to Cologne, where they were received by Mr Kellner. The outcome of the meeting was that Mr. Kellner offered training compensation for the player. This offer included the amount that NK Olimpija would have been entitled to in any case. He also explained that he had nothing to do with this obligation, as the transfer had taken place before he took office and his legal department had not identified any improper conduct.

This is how the complaint to FIFA got its start. When the complaint is served to the management of FC Cologne, FIFA would make it possible to re-establish contact with the management of NK Olimpija. The lawsuit was about player compensation and a penalty for two transfer windows according to FIFA guidelines. This has not happened. An attempt to contact the President, Dr Werner Wolf, was also rejected. Mr Wolf stated that he was not responsible for the situation, but blamed the management for it.

Cologne has appointed additional lawyers to respond to the action. FIFA then issued a ruling and, in addition to compensation for Olimpija, banned the German club for two transfer windows. The reactions from Cologne are well known.

Mr Christian Keller described the action as “an absurd judgment … or rather, these are people from the Balkans…”

1. FC Köln appealed the ruling and turned to CAS.

Just before the deadline, a meeting took place at Munich Airport between the President of NK Olimpija and the Vice-President of 1. FC Köln Dr. Carsten Wettig and Executive Director Mr. Christian Keller. The purpose of the meeting was to reach an agreement on compensation for Potočnik. FC Cologne has made a written offer of € 750,000.00. The lawyers of the German top-flight team did not consider this regulation appropriate. The fact that Potočnik’s immediate dismissal was justified should also be confirmed by NK Olimpija. The Cologne lawyers have submitted a written agreement to this effect. However, NK Olimpija rejected the deal, saying it would be misleading and a distortion of the facts.

From this point of view, for the management to come before the Assembly and announce that we are confident that CAS will follow our proposals is a farce.

The management of FC Cologne could have ended the procedure early and easily, and Dr Carsten Wettig, who was in office at the time of the commitment, and Dr Christian Keller took the initiative to reject any attempt. Unfortunately, the President has not relented. We don’t know to what extent the whole Executive Board was involved.

FIFA’s decision has shown that any offence will be punished extremely harshly, and the CAS has rightly confirmed this.

Yesterday, NK Olimpija achieved a great victory not only for themselves, but for all clubs! Every club, big and small, has been warned and asked to respect the rules. For NK Olimpija, the matter of FC Cologne is now closed.

NK Olimpija Board of Directors