Abdeslam Ouaddou, the Moroccan defender who called time on his international career four years ago, will be paid the six months salary he is owed by Qatar SC after winning his case at FIFA's dispute resolution chamber (DRC). However, the club can still appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
For Ouaddou, even if Qatar SC succeed at CAS and end up not having to reimburse him, it hardly matters. He just wanted to make a point. "For me, it is not about the money. It is a matter of principle. I was fighting for my rights. That is why I am so happy with this victory," he said in a statement via FIFPro, the worldwide professional footballers' association.
Ouaddou's victory might have repercussions for other players. French-Algerian footballer Zahir Belounis is in a similar position. He is trying to recover 18 months of wages from El Jaish and is taking legal action to reclaim the outstanding amount, as well as for extortion, fraud and inhumane working conditions.
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Three months ago, Belounis left Qatar after an almost two-year-long battle over unpaid wages. For three-quarters of that time, he was "trapped" because he could not obtain a visa to leave the Emirate. Like other migrant workers in Qatar, Belounis was hired under the kafala system. It requires any foreigner with employment in the country to have the sponsor's permission to enter the country and to leave.
When Belounis began legal proceedings against El Jaish, they denied him the documentation he needed to leave the country and it was only after the intense media spotlight was shone on the situation, and after negotiations with FIFPro, that he was eventually let go.
Two days after FIFPro held the discussions with El Jaish that resulted in Belounis' release, so to speak, they instructed Qatar that the kafala system should not apply to footballers and their contracts should be respected according to international standards. Ouaddou had experienced similar when he tried to leave and feared holding footballers hostage was becoming too common for comfort in Qatar.
Unlike Ouaddou, who was also involved in campaigning for Belounis' paperwork to be handed back to him, Belounis has launched his legal claim against his club in a Qatari court. He may have done that because, as Ouaddou explained, there are risks involved when going straight to FIFA's DRC.
When Ouaddou let Qatar SC know it was his intention to go to the world governing body, they warned him they had "a lot of influence with FIFA" and his case would take "four or five years minimum." Ouaddou was pleasantly surprised when it only took 16 months to be resolved.
He said it sent a message to the Qatari football officials that they are not above reproach. "It shows that Qatari people don't have to think that they can get away with everything -- that they don't have to respect the rules, that money can buy them everything."
FIFA could not intervene in Belounis' case because he chose to go through Qatar's legal channels, but if he fails there, he may want to reconsider using FIFA's DRC, given the success Ouaddou has had with both them and the International Trade Union Confederation. The Moroccan for one, certainly hopes so.
"I am telling all players, how important it is to join the union. There will be one moment in your career when you will need the union's help. That's why I am of the opinion that 100 percent of the players should be a member," he said.