The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) issued its decision in the dispute between Calhanoglu and Turkish football club Trabzonspor on Thursday evening. In 2011, Hakan Calhanoglu was paid €100,000 ($108,000) after agreeing to sign for Trabzonspor in the future, when he was a youth player at German club Karlsruher.
In 2013, Trabzonspor lodged a claim to FIFA arguing that Calhanoglu had breached the terms of their employment contract without just cause when the player signed a contract for Karlsruher. The 22-year-old Turkish international now has to pay €100,000 to Trabzonspor.
CAS said the ban would take place with "immediate effect". Calhanoglu will miss the remainder of the season and an international showdown against Finland on March 24. Bayer Leverkusen's sporting director Rudi Voller said the ban was "a heavy blow" for the club.