Samuel Ezeala was denied his requests against Clermont. The Pau winger requested 680,000 euros in damages, following his departure from ASM in June 2023. The Auvergne club therefore does not pay any compensation.
The “Ezeala – ASM Clermont Auvergne” affair ended this Monday July 1st. The Clermont-Ferrand industrial tribunal has delivered its deliberations, ruling that Samuel Ezeala’s contract with ASM Clermont Auvergne ended on June 30, 2023 and that no employment contract which began on July 1, 2023. The industrial tribunal dismisses Samuel Ezeala of all of his requests. Each party will retain responsibility for its own expenses.
As a reminder, both parties were summoned on Monday, April 8 to the Clermont-Ferrand industrial tribunal. Alongside Me Arnaud Dubois, his lawyer, Samuel Ezeala requested compensation of around 680,000 euros in damages, estimating that from July 1, 2023 he should have received three years of salary from the ASM; and 150,000 euros for moral and financial damage. ASM Clermont Auvergne requested that Ezeala dismiss all of her requests.
The reminder of the facts
In April 2023, Samuel Ezeala, then a Clermont player, told L’Équipe that a “written agreement” for a three-season extension had been concluded with the Auvergne leaders. A few days later, Didier Retière declared the opposite to Rugby Rama. “No written agreement has been signed. There have been emails exchanged, that’s all. The aim is to restore a positive state of mind around the team with committed players. The discussions have not necessarily gone well.”said the ASM director of sports development at the time.
In February 2023, the Clermont club would have offered Samuel Ezeala a three-year extension with a bonus of 24,000 euros for 19 match sheets per season, which the ASM contested during the April hearing, arguing that this famous bonus was not included in the initial proposal. The Auvergne club made a new proposal to Ezeala in March 2023, a few weeks after the arrival of Christophe Urios as manager of Clermont: one season with the bonus and two additional seasons as an option, which the player refused.
A new adventure at the Stade Français
Left for Pau last summer, The former ASM winger has made a good comeback in Béarn. Not spared from injuries when he wore the yellow and blue colors, Ezeala played twenty matches (including eighteen starts) with Pau this season, and scored nine tries. After a short year spent with the Section paloise, the Spaniard chose to leave for the Stade français.
The recent Top 14 semi-finalist has taken the gamble of remodeling its back lines, with the notable arrivals of Louis Carbonel (Montpellier), Raffaele Costa Storti (Béziers), Joe Jonas (Biarritz), and Louis Foursans-Bourdette (Montpellier). In Auvergne, Clermont players will resume training on July 22 while a number of Jaunards will be in the selection.
