Roger Lemerre, former Étoile sportive du Sahel coach, is demanding €17,841 from the Tunisian club within eight days. FIFA has also ordered ESS to pay $122,766 to former player Nour Eddine El Klib, with the threat of a transfer ban hanging over the club.
Étoile sportive du Sahel would appear to be going through a tricky spell on the administrative front. The Tunisian club is facing two separate procedures, involving sums in two different currencies and running to two different timetables. The first came from a law firm, the second from FIFA itself.
On 4 November, ESS received an official formal notice from the firm representing Roger Lemerre, the club’s former coach, according to AllAfrica. In parallel, FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber issued a ruling on 29 October 2026 in favour of Nour Eddine El Klib, a former Étoile player, over unpaid wages and compensation.
Lemerre sets an eight-day deadline
The formal notice sent by Roger Lemerre’s law firm concerns a memorandum of understanding concluded on 26 and 28 July 2025, again according to AllAfrica. The total sum claimed stands at €17,841, around 59,660 dinars, to be paid within eight days.
The amount breaks down into three items: €11,500 still owed after a first instalment of €20,000 was paid, €1,341 in late-payment interest calculated at 10% over fourteen months, and €5,000 in compensation. The former coach’s representative has warned that he will turn to FIFA to seek a transfer ban if payment is not made.
This is therefore a move by a private firm, not a ruling handed down by the world governing body. The threat of going to FIFA is being brandished, but at this stage it remains a possibility.
El Klib wins his case
The second case is of a different nature. On 29 October 2026, FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber ordered Étoile sportive du Sahel to pay $122,766 to Nour Eddine El Klib in unpaid wages and compensation, AllAfrica reports. Here the figure is in dollars, not euros as in the Lemerre dispute.
The world governing body gave the club 45 days from notification to provide proof of payment. If ESS fails to comply within that period, it faces a ban on registering new players for three consecutive transfer windows.
The sanction is not yet in force: the 45-day period runs from notification, and the information provided does not indicate that any deadline has already passed.
A club under double pressure
The two cases run to different timetables. On one side, eight days to pay €17,841 to the firm representing Roger Lemerre; on the other, 45 days to prove payment of $122,766 to Nour Eddine El Klib. Two deadlines, two currencies, two counterparts.
The threat common to both files concerns recruitment: Lemerre’s firm mentions referring the matter to FIFA if payment is not made, while the Dispute Resolution Chamber’s ruling provides, in the absence of proof of payment, for a ban on registering new players for three consecutive transfer windows.
The information provided contains no reaction from ESS to either procedure.