Claudia Pechstein: Speed skater gets Fifpro funding in CAS case

Five-time champion Claudia Pechstein made her sixth Olympic appearance at the 2014 Sochi Games

German speed skater Claudia Pechstein will get financial backing from the world footballers' union as she tries to win damages after a doping ban.

The five-time Olympic champion has no connection to football, but Fifpro said her case highlighted its own concerns about the Court of Arbitration (CAS).

Pechstein, 43, was banned for two years in 2009 over irregular blood results, but she never failed a drugs test.

Cas rejected her appeal against the International Skating Union's ban.

But in January a Munich court ruled Pechstein could go ahead with a lawsuit demanding more than £2.8m in damages over lost earnings.

"We are convinced that Ms Pechstein, with our support, will take a historic step in the near future to help install an arbitration system, which respects the rights of all athletes," said a statement from Fifpro, which represents 65,000 footballers.

Fifpro said in March that Cas lacked "independence, equal representation and accessibility".