A footballer who hadn’t yet signed her contract has just won her case after the club walked away when it learned she was pregnant. Whilst this case is not a UK Tribunal case, the lessons from this decision matters beyond sport.
What happened
Maja Göthberg spent the 2023/24 season with Lazio Women and helped the club win promotion to the top division in Italy. The club wanted to keep her and negotiated a new one-year deal worth 64,000 euros.
In July 2024, shortly before she was due to fly to Rome for pre-season, she found out she was pregnant. After her agent informed the club, the club subsequently declined to proceed with the agreement.
The club later wrote that no contract had ever been agreed and that it had not known about the pregnancy; the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the body that hears appeals in sport, later found both of those statements to be untrue.
What was decided
The club suggested that, because the contract had never been signed or registered, there was nothing to honour. The CAS disagreed. Applying Swiss law, it held that an employment contract can be formed as soon as both sides agree the key terms, even without a signature. The club had made a firm offer, Göthberg had accepted it through her agent, and both sides had started acting on it. She was added to the team messages, sent a training plan, and had an airport pick up arranged. A binding contract therefore existed before the pregnancy was ever mentioned.
CAS then treated the club’s later claim that no contract existed as a dismissal. Under FIFA’s rules, ending a contract during pregnancy is presumed to be because of the pregnancy unless the employer can prove otherwise. Lazio could not, so the dismissal was unlawful.
What she was awarded
Lazio was ordered to pay 64,000 euros (the full value of the contract) plus interest. Göthberg received a further 5,333 euros after a club coach told teammates she was pregnant, which breached her privacy, making the total just over 69,000 euros.
What this means for employers
This was a sports case decided under sports and Swiss law, so it does not bind employers here. The principles, though, line up closely with UK law and there are lessons for employers here:
- A contract can exist without a signature where the essential terms have been agreed and the parties objectively intended to be bound. Conduct consistent with that agreement will often reinforce that conclusion.
- Withdrawing an offer or ending a role because someone is pregnant risks a pregnancy and maternity discrimination claim under the Equality Act 2010, and a dismissal because of pregnancy or maternity is automatically unfair from day one, with no minimum length of service needed.
The reverse burden of proof applied by FIFA’s maternity regulations is specific to that framework; under the Equality Act 2010, it is not for the employer to prove that the decision was not because of pregnancy; instead it is for the employee to satisfy the Tribunal that it is, more likely than not, the reason.
Employers therefore face similarly significant risks where pregnancy influences decision-making.
Employers should also note that pregnancy information is special category personal data. Sharing it without a lawful basis or the employee’s agreement may breach UK data protection law.
Top lessons for employers
- Remember an offer may be binding, even before anyone signs; this is subject to wording of any offer so they should be phrased carefully.
- Never withdraw an offer or end a role because someone has told you they are pregnant.
- Refusing to honour an agreed contract by asserting that no contract exists may amount to a dismissal or unlawful termination.
- Keep a pregnancy confidential unless the employee has clearly agreed you can share it. Find more cases where maternity played an important role here!
- If someone cannot do their usual duties during pregnancy, talk to them about adjustments rather than going quiet.
How Thrive Law can help
We help employers handle pregnancy, maternity and recruitment decisions in a way that supports the employee and keeps you on the right side of the law. If you are unsure whether an offer has become binding, or how to manage a sensitive situation well, we can talk it through with you before anything goes wrong. Find more links to our case summaries here! to keep you up to date with some of the hot topics were talking about at Thrive.
For more employment law topics, case summaries and top tips for your organisation, check out the Jodie Hill – YouTube channel for more info!.
In short
Once you have agreed the terms of a job, you are likely committed, signature or not. Handle pregnancy news with care, keep it private, and get advice early if you are not sure where you stand.
References
CAS 2025/A/11527 Maja Göthberg v Lazio Women 2015 A R.L., award dated 26 May 2026.
Associated Press via ABC News, Landmark legal win compensates pregnant soccer player who lost contract.
Inside World Football, Gothberg awarded compensation after CAS landmark ruling.
