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Richarlison is still trying to reach an amicable agreement to leave Tottenham Hotspur, but his legal alternative is getting more interesting.

The Brazilian has been left out of Spurs’ Premier League squad and Roberto De Zerbi has made it clear he won’t use him. That situation looked difficult enough already.

Now Tottenham are out of the League Cup, have no European football and won’t enter the FA Cup until January.

In practical terms, there is nowhere for Richarlison to play for Spurs before the turn of the year. And that’s a strong argument if he eventually decides to take his case to FIFA.

FIFA and CAS precedents offer some hope

Brazil’s Globo Esporte have spoken to sports lawyer Eduardo Carlezzo about the situation. Carlezzo is careful not to give a verdict on Richarlison’s specific case.

He does, however, explain that players can seek termination for just cause when they’re prevented from playing.

“In theory, and without going into Richarlison’s specific case, it is possible for a player to seek termination for just cause before FIFA’s Football Tribunal if he hasn’t been registered for the competitions his club will play in,” he said.

Carlezzo stresses FIFA would look at the entire situation. That includes the contract, the club’s relationship with the player and which competitions he could potentially play in.

“We’ve worked on cases where, in similar situations, players hired us to seek termination for just cause after being sidelined, unable to play in any competition and only training with the B team,” Carlezzo explained.

“The decisions taken by FIFA and CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) were favourable to the player and allowed him to terminate his contract and look for a new club. There are several precedents which protect players in situations like this.”

That doesn’t mean Richarlison would automatically win a case against Tottenham. But at least there’s something for his lawyers to work with.

Tottenham’s awful form changes the picture

Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi
Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi

Only recently, one argument in Tottenham’s favour was that Richarlison could still technically play in domestic cup competitions. That’s no longer much use before January.

Spurs have already been knocked out of the League Cup. They aren’t in Europe and their FA Cup campaign doesn’t begin until January. Richarlison can’t play in the Premier League because he wasn’t registered.

So even if De Zerbi suddenly changed his mind, he couldn’t put the Brazilian back into his league team before January. The same applies if Tottenham decided to change manager – which is now a factor given their terrible start to the season.

Yet whoever is sitting in the dugout, Richarlison’s registration situation remains the same until January.

Amicable exit remains the first choice

For now, Richarlison is still trying to find a solution without taking the fight that far.

Globo Esporte say he’s seeking an amicable termination with Tottenham. That would clearly be much cleaner than starting a case at FIFA. But his previous attempts to leave have gone nowhere, and Spurs have shown little interest in simply releasing him.

There’s also some history with De Zerbi worth mentioning. At Marseille, the Italian publicly told Amir Murillo he was going to be sold following a Champions League defeat.

According to reports in France at the time, the way De Zerbi handled the situation caused problems inside the dressing room. Murillo threatened to leave, but RDZ was dismissed around ten days later.

Richarlison’s situation at Tottenham is obviously its own case. And what matters now is whether being completely shut out of competitive football gives his lawyers more to work with.

Carlezzo isn’t saying it definitely does. But with no competition available to Richarlison before January, those FIFA and CAS precedents look a bit more relevant than they did before.

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