American defender Reggie Cannon wins appeal, CAS overturns FIFA decision in dispute with Boavista

American defender Reggie Cannon has won his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which overturned a decision by FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber and will result in the player being owed about 400,000 euros ($468,000) from Portuguese soccer club Boavista.

The court said Wednesday it had overturned FIFA’s decision on July 3.

“At the end of the day, who knows if I’ll see that money, considering the club,” Cannon said Thursday during a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “Hopefully, I do up end up getting paid. A lot of things in FIFA just require patience.”

CAS said the parties, which include English club Queens Park Rangers, have a period of time to request the text of the decision remain confidential and that if they do not it will be published.

“I feel completely vindicated as well as QPR,” he said. “I’ve had to stay silent about this for a long time. To finally have a decision and now being allowed to speak about it just feels so invigorating. I’m so happy.”

Now 27 and a member of Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids, Cannon transferred from Dallas to Boavista in September 2020 and agreed to a five-year contract with annual salaries ranging from 175,000 euros (then $207,000) for 2020-21 to 550,000 euros for 2024-25 (currently $645,000).

Cannon filed several notices of default in 2021 and 2023. Portugal’s arbitration commission in July 2023 decided he had the right to terminate the contract.

He terminated the agreement in June 2023, citing unpaid wages, and signed a four-year contract with QPR that September for salaries ranging from 180,000 pounds (then $220,000) for 2023-24 to 725,000 pounds (currently $685,000) for 2026-27..

Boavista claimed breach of contract and told QPR in December 2023 it was owed 2,107,425 euros (then $2.27 million). The Portuguese club filed a complaint with FIFA and Cannon filed a counterclaim.

A three-person FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber panel of Frans de Weger, Mario Flores Chemor and Roy Vermeer ruled in June 2024 that Cannon was owed 88,000 euros (then $94,000) by Boavista plus interest and that QPR owed Boavista 1,287,000 euros (then $1.37 million).

CAS said it annulled the decision, except for a small portion detailing the case history.

“It’s taken up so many days,” Cannon said. “The amount of legal stuff that I had to read up on, the amount of calls with the lawyers, the travel to Switzerland, which I did for the actual case. It feels like it just took up so much of my mental space, so much of my time, so much of my energy. Ultimately, this is why I feel such a weight of relief.”

QPR spokesman Paul Morrissey said the club declined comment, and FIFA and Boavista did not respond to requests from the AP for comment.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer