FIFA v West Ham United FC & Diafra Sakho

Nick De Marco acted for West Ham and Sakho in disciplinary proceedings brought against them following a complaint by the Fédération Sénégalaise de Football regarding an alleged breach of art. 5 of Annexe 1 of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players.

Due to injury Sakho was unable to play football for 2 weeks or fly for 6 weeks. He could not fly to Senegal and be selected for the national team for the African Cup of Nations, but after some recovery was able to come on as a substitute in an FA cup match against Bristol City, scoring the winning goal. The case was much publicized in the press which reported West Ham faced expulsion from the FA Cup and Sakho a lengthy ban.  The FDC decided to reprimand the parties, fining West Ham 100,000 Swiss francs (approx. £71,000).