After suffering brain damage, Ajax compensates the family of an Arab player with millions
Dutch football club Ajax Amsterdam announced on Monday that it had paid 7.85 million euros in compensation to the family of its former player Abdelhak Nouri, who suffered brain damage in July 2017 after a heart attack during a friendly match, according to a friendly agreement between the two parties.
"We are all aware that the suffering of Abdelhak and his relatives is not yet over. The situation is still very sad and we feel it here too at Ajax," former international goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who is the general manager of Ajax, said in a statement.
Nuri of Moroccan origin, who is currently 24 years old, suffered a heart attack on July 8, 2017, while participating with his club in a friendly match against Werder Bremen in Austria. The club that terminated the player's contract in March 2020.
The player's family resorted to the Federal Arbitration Committee in June 2018, demanding compensation from the club to pay the costs of his lifelong care.
Soon after, Ajax agreed to take full responsibility for the player's fate and apologized to the family, acknowledging that the medical treatment Nuri received after the incident was not sufficient.
After reaching a friendly agreement between the two parties, Ajax will compensate the player's family with a net amount of 7 million and 850 thousand euros, ending the legal procedures against him.
The club clarified that since the summer of 2017, Ajax has also paid the costs of the health care that Nuri receives, and will continue to do so.
"It is good that an agreement has been reached so that we can close the file," Van der Sar said in a statement, while the player's father, Mohamed Nouri, said in a statement that "Ajax's participation and commitment have been very influential over all these years."
"Ajax has been an integral part of our lives since Abdelhak was a boy. We cherish the relationship with the people inside the club and with the loyal fans," he added.
Until the termination of his contract in March 2020, Ajax continued to pay the player's salaries throughout his absence from his ranks.
Nouri grew up in the ranks of Ajax and graduated in age groups before moving to the first team in the summer of 2016. He played 15 matches in its ranks at the beginning of the 2016-2017 season, and was considered one of the young talents in a club known for raising prominent players who moved in later stages to major European clubs.
Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news