Barcelona loses legal bid to get Champions League cash bonus from Russian club Zenit

By The Associated Press

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Barcelona has failed in a legal case to get a half million-dollar bonus from Zenit St. Petersburg that the Russian club didn’t have to pay because it was barred from the Champions League following the invasion of Ukraine. The Court of Arbitration for Sport says it dismissed Barcelona’s appeal against a FIFA ruling in a contract dispute. Zenit bought Brazilian winger Malcom in 2019. A clause required Zenit to pay Barcelona 490,000 euros each time it qualified for the Champions League group stage. A FIFA judge had ruled Zenit shouldn’t pay for a Champions League benefit it never got.