Liseth Mariana Garnica Prieto v. CD Antofagasta & FIFA

Colombian player Liseth Mariana Garnica Prieto, under contract with Chilean club CD Antofagasta, suffered a complete rupture of her posterior cruciate ligament on 9 April 2023 during a match against a men's team. What followed was a genuinely difficult medical process: a first specialist recommended non-invasive treatment; a second opinion she sought recommended invasive treatment; a third physician recommended non-invasive treatment again; a fourth examination, four months after the injury, finally recommended surgery, which she underwent on 28 August 2023 — nearly five months after the original injury. Garnica said she went through this without professional assistance after the surgery, had to personally cover surgery and injury-related costs, was not provided specific medications, and received no support from the club.

Garnica sued CD Antofagasta before the FIFA Football Tribunal Dispute Resolution Chamber on 23 September 2023 seeking moral damages; the FIFA DRC rejected her claim on 15 November 2023. On appeal, the Sole Arbitrator applied Swiss law (Articles 42 and 49 of the Swiss Code of Obligations) and set out what a moral damages claim actually requires: proof of an unlawful act infringing a genuine personality right, and specific circumstances clearly establishing that moral damage resulted — not merely an assertion of emotional or psychological hardship linked to a difficult situation.

The Sole Arbitrator found Garnica had not discharged that burden of proof on the evidence presented, dismissed her appeal, and confirmed the FIFA DRC's decision. The award was issued without costs, with each side bearing its own legal fees.

The case sets a genuinely high evidentiary bar for moral damages claims in football: a serious injury, an admittedly difficult and drawn-out treatment process, and a lack of club support during recovery were, together, still not enough on their own to establish a moral damages claim without the specific proof CAS requires.