The Tunisian club must respond to a formal notice from former coach Roger Lemerre and justify the payment owed to former player Nour Eddine El Klib, ordered by FIFA, according to La Presse de Tunisie.
Étoile sportive du Sahel received a formal notice on 4 November from Roger Lemerre’s law firm, concerning a memorandum of understanding dated 26 and 28 July 2025, according to La Presse de Tunisie.
This case comes on top of a heavier procedure before FIFA. The world governing body’s Dispute Resolution Chamber ordered the club, on 29 October 2026, to pay $122,766 to Nour Eddine El Klib for unpaid wages and breach of contract, with 5% interest per year.
Lemerre demanding nearly 60,000 dinars
The formal notice concerns a sum of €17,841, around 59,660 dinars, to be paid within eight days. According to La Presse de Tunisie, the amount breaks down into €11,500 still outstanding, €1,341 in late-payment interest, calculated at 10% over fourteen months, and €5,000 in compensation.
Roger Lemerre’s representative has also threatened to turn to FIFA to request a recruitment ban against the club. At this stage, the case does not mention any actual referral to the world governing body: it is a threat.
El Klib: 45 days to pay
FIFA’s decision has already been handed down. The club must pay $122,766 to Nour Eddine El Klib for unpaid wages and breach of contract, with 5% interest per year.
The club has 45 days from notification of the decision to prove full payment. Failing that, according to the same source, it faces a ban on registering new players for three consecutive transfer windows. The case could also be referred to FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee. That is, however, only a possibility: no such referral is presented as certain to date.
Two separate deadlines
The timetable is as follows: eight days to pay the sum demanded by Roger Lemerre, and 45 days from notification to prove full payment in the El Klib case. The available information does not specify the date on which FIFA’s decision was notified to the club.