Sunderland sack defender Eboue over agent pay dispute

Sunderland have terminated the contract of Emmanuel Eboue after he was given a one-year ban by FIFA over a pay dispute with a former agent.

The Ivorian, who only signed for the Premier League strugglers as a free agent on March 9 and has yet to play for the club, has two weeks in which to appeal the decision.

Eboue has been sanctioned by FIFA's disciplinary committee for failing to pay his former representative Sebastien Boisseau.

A FIFA players status committee ruled in July 2013 in favour of Boisseau in a contractual dispute with the former Arsenal defender and fined Eboue 30,000 Swiss francs ($31,175) for failing to comply with the decision in September 2014.

The case was heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport but Eboue's appeal was dismissed and FIFA has now ordered that the ban be imposed for a year, or as long as it takes for the debt to be settled.

A statement on the Sunderland website read: "Sunderland has been advised by the Football Association that Emmanuel Eboue has been placed under an immediate suspension from football and all football-related activity for a period of one year, by FIFA.

"The suspension relates to a monetary dispute between the player and a former agent, which precedes his time at Sunderland AFC and was not something that the club was made aware of by the player.

"Eboue signed a contract with Sunderland AFC until the end of the current season and the club has therefore given notice of its intention to terminate the contract. The player has two weeks in which to appeal this decision."