F.I.F.A. – Camera di Risoluzione delle Controversie (2014-2015) – indennità di formazione – ———- F.I.F.A. – Dispute Resolution Chamber (2014-2015) – training compensation – official version by www.fifa.com – Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 10 April 2015, in the following composition: Thomas Grimm (Switzerland), Deputy Chairman Jon Newman (USA), member John Bramhall (England), member Taku Nomiya (Japan), member Mario Gallavotti (Italy), member on the claim presented by the club, Club A, from country B as Claimant against the club, Club C, from country D as Respondent regarding training compensation in connection with the Player E

F.I.F.A. - Camera di Risoluzione delle Controversie (2014-2015) - indennità di formazione – ---------- F.I.F.A. - Dispute Resolution Chamber (2014-2015) - training compensation – official version by www.fifa.com – Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 10 April 2015, in the following composition: Thomas Grimm (Switzerland), Deputy Chairman Jon Newman (USA), member John Bramhall (England), member Taku Nomiya (Japan), member Mario Gallavotti (Italy), member on the claim presented by the club, Club A, from country B as Claimant against the club, Club C, from country D as Respondent regarding training compensation in connection with the Player E I. Facts of the case 1. According to the player passport issued by the Football Federation from country B, the player, Player E (hereinafter: the player), born on 11 September 1994, was registered with the club from country B, Club A (hereinafter: the Claimant) as follows: a. From 29 January 2009 until 23 September 2009 as an amateur; b. From 24 September 2009 until 13 December 2009 as a professional; c. From 15 January 2010 until 17 December 2010 as a professional; d. From 28 January 2011 until 2 December 2011 as a professional; e. From 20 January 2012 until 30 November 2012 as a professional. 2. The relevant sporting seasons in country B ran from July until May of the following year. 3. Furthermore, according to the information contained in the Transfer Matching System (TMS), the player was registered with the club from country D, Club C (hereinafter: the Respondent) on 5 July 2013. Moreover, according to TMS, the Respondent belonged to the category III (UEFA indicative amount of EUR 30,000 per year) at the moment the player was registered with it. 4. In this framework, on 8 April 2014, the Claimant contacted FIFA asking for its proportion of training compensation, on the ground of the player’s subsequent transfer as a professional before the end of the season of his 23rd birthday. In particular, the Claimant requested the amount of EUR 120,000 plus 5% interest p.a. as from 4 August 2013. 5. In its reply to the claim, the Respondent firstly argued that it had concluded a professional contract with the player on 3 July 2013 only, i.e. “more than 7 months after the expiration of [the player’s] contract with [the Claimant]…” Therefore, according to the Respondent, “In these case no transfer had been made, there was no transfer contract between [the Respondent] and [the Claimant], and the player signed for [the Respondent] as a free agent…” 6. Furthermore, the Respondent stressed that the Claimant “did not offer the player a contract prior to its expiry, as foreseen by art. 6, clause 3 of Annex 4 of the FIFA Regulations”. 7. On account of the above, the Respondent asserted that the Claimant’s claim must be rejected. 8. In its replica, the Claimant stated that it had no further comments. 9. In its duplica, the Respondent reiterated the arguments of its reply. II. Considerations of the Dispute Resolution Chamber 1. First of all, the Dispute Resolution Chamber (hereinafter also referred to as DRC or Chamber) analysed whether it was competent to deal with the matter at hand. In this respect, it took note that the present matter was submitted to FIFA on 8 April 2014. Consequently, the 2012 edition of the Rules Governing the Procedures of the Players’ Status Committee and the Dispute Resolution Chamber (hereinafter: the Procedural Rules) is applicable to the matter at hand (cf. art. 21 of the 2012 edition of the Procedural Rules). 2. Subsequently, the members of the Chamber referred to art. 3 par. 1 of the Procedural Rules and confirmed that in accordance with art. 24 par. 1 in combination with art. 22 lit. d) of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (edition 2015), the Dispute Resolution Chamber is competent to deal with the matter at stake relating to training compensation between clubs belonging to different associations. 3. Furthermore, and taking into consideration that the player was registered with the Respondent on 5 July 2013, the Chamber analysed which edition of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players should be applicable as to the substance of the matter. In this respect, it confirmed that in accordance with art. 26 par. 1 and 2 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (edition 2015), and considering that the player was registered with the Respondent on 5 July 2013, the 2012 edition of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (hereinafter: Regulations) is applicable to the matter at hand as to the substance. 4. The competence of the Chamber and the applicable regulations having been established, and entering into the substance of the matter, the Chamber started by acknowledging the above-mentioned facts as well as the documentation contained in the file. However, the Chamber emphasised that in the following considerations it will refer only to the facts, arguments and documentary evidence which it considered pertinent for the assessment of the matter at hand. 5. First of all, the Chamber recalled that the player, born on 11 September 1994, was registered with the Claimant as follows: a. From 29 January 2009 until 23 September 2009 as an amateur; b. From 24 September 2009 until 13 December 2009 as a professional; c. From 15 January 2010 until 17 December 2010 as a professional; d. From 28 January 2011 until 2 December 2011 as a professional; e. From 20 January 2012 until 30 November 2012 as a professional. 6. In continuation, the DRC took note that the Claimant maintained that it is entitled to receive training compensation from the Respondent in the amount of EUR 120,000, indicating that the player was transferred as a professional to the Respondent before the end of the season of his 23rd birthday. 7. Furthermore, the Chamber noted that the Respondent rebutted the claim of the Claimant, firstly alleging that no training compensation is due since “In these case no transfer had been made, there was no transfer contract between [the Respondent] and [the Claimant], and the player signed for [the Respondent] as a free agent…” . Equally, the Chamber noted that the Respondent argued that the claim should be rejected, since the Claimant did not offer the player a contract in accordance with art. 6 par. 3 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations. 8. With the above-mentioned considerations in mind and while addressing the first argument raised by the Respondent, the Chamber referred to the rules applicable to cases regarding training compensation and stated that, as established in art. 20 of the Regulations as well as in art. 1 par. 1 of Annexe 4 in combination with art. 2 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations, training compensation is payable, as a general rule, for training incurred between the ages of 12 and 21 when a player is registered for the first time as a professional before the end of the season of the player’s 23rd birthday or when a professional is transferred between clubs of two different associations, whether during or at the end of his contract, before the end of the season of the player’s 23rd birthday. In case the latter occurs, art. 3 par. 1 sent. 3 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations sets forth that training compensation will only be owed to the player’s former club, i.e. the Claimant, for the time he was effectively trained by that club. In view of the foregoing, the members of the Chamber unanimously decided that the first argument raised by the Respondent must be rejected. 9. In continuation and in relation to the second argument of the Respondent, the Chamber analysed whether art. 6 par. 3 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations is applicable to the present matter as lex specialis. 10. In this regard, the DRC was eager to emphasise that the aforementioned provision is limited to a well-defined geographic scope. Since the Claimant is a member of the Football Federation from country B, and country B is neither a member of the European Union (EU), nor of the European Economic Area (EEA), the Chamber found it evident that art. 6 par. 3 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations shall not apply to the present matter. 11. On account of all the above, the DRC decided that the Respondent is liable to pay training compensation to the Claimant in accordance with art. 20 and art. 2 par. 1 lit. ii. in conjunction with art. 3 par. 1 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations. 12. Turning its attention to the calculation of the training compensation payable by the Respondent to the Claimant, the Chamber referred to art. 5 par. 1 and par. 2 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations, which stipulates that as a general rule, to calculate the training compensation due to a player’s former club, it is necessary to take the costs that would have been incurred by the new club if it had trained the player itself. Furthermore, the Chamber referred to art. 5 par. 3 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations, which, inter alia, stipulates that to ensure that training compensation for very young players is not set at unreasonably high levels, the training costs for players for the seasons between their 12th and 15th birthday shall be based on the training and education costs for category 4 clubs. 13. In continuation, the Chamber took into account that the Respondent belonged to the category III within UEFA, which corresponds to the amount of EUR 30,000 per year, and that, as described above, the player, born on 11 September 1994, was registered with the Claimant during 5 months of the season of the player’s 14th birthday (EUR 4,166), during 11 months of the player’s 15th (EUR 9,166) and 16th (EUR 27,500) birthday, during 10 months of the player’s 17th birthday (EUR 25,000) as well as during 5 months of the season of the player’s 18th birthday (EUR 12,500). 14. In view of the foregoing, and considering art. 5 par. 3 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations, the Chamber decided that the Respondent has to pay the amount of EUR 78,332 to the Claimant as training compensation. 15. In addition, taking into consideration the Claimant’s claim and the Chamber’s constant jurisprudence in this respect, the Chamber decided to award the Claimant interest at the rate of 5% p.a. on the amount of EUR 78,332 as from 5 August 2013 until the date of effective payment. 16. Lastly, the Chamber referred to art. 25 par. 2 of the Regulations in combination with art. 18 par. 1 of the Procedural Rules, according to which, in proceedings before the DRC relating to disputes regarding training compensation, costs in the maximum amount of CHF 25’000 are levied. It is further stipulated that the costs are to be borne in consideration of the parties’ degree of success in the proceedings and that, in accordance with Annex A of the Procedural Rules, the costs of the proceedings are to be levied on the basis of the amount in dispute. 17. In respect of the above, the Chamber held that the amount to be taken into consideration in the present proceedings is EUR 120,000 related to the claim of the Claimant. Consequently, the Chamber concluded that the maximum amount of costs of the proceedings corresponds to CHF 15,000 (cf. table in Annex A). 18. As a result, considering the particularities of the present matter as well as the parties’ degree of success, the Chamber determined the costs of the current proceedings to the amount of CHF 10,000, of which the amount of CHF 3,000 shall be borne by the Claimant and the amount of CHF 7,000 by the Respondent. III. Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber 1. The claim of the Claimant, Club A, is partially accepted. 2. The Respondent, Club C, has to pay to the Claimant, within 30 days as from the date of notification of this decision, the amount of EUR 78,332 plus 5% interest p.a. as of 5 August 2013 until the date of effective payment. 3. In the event that the aforementioned sum and interest are not paid within the stated time limit, the present matter shall be submitted, upon request, to FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee for consideration and a formal decision. 4. The final costs of the proceedings in the amount of CHF 10,000 are to be paid, within 30 days as from the date of notification of the present decision, as follows: 4.1 The amount of CHF 3,000 by the Claimant to FIFA. Given that the Claimant has already paid the amount of CHF 3,000 as advance of costs at the start of the present proceedings, no additional amount has to be paid by the Claimant. 4.2 The amount of CHF 7,000 by the Respondent to FIFA to the following bank account with reference to case no.: UBS Zurich Account number 366.677.01U (FIFA Players’ Status) Clearing number 230 IBAN: CH 27 0023 0230 3666 7701U SWIFT: UBSWCHZH80A 5. Any further claim lodged by the Claimant is rejected. 6. The Claimant is directed to inform the Respondent immediately and directly of the account number to which the remittances are to be made and to notify the Dispute Resolution Chamber of every payment received. ***** Note relating to the motivated decision (legal remedy): According to art. 67 par. 1 of the FIFA Statutes, this decision may be appealed against before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The statement of appeal must be sent to the CAS directly within 21 days of receipt of notification of this decision and shall contain all the elements in accordance with point 2 of the directives issued by the CAS, a copy of which we enclose hereto. Within another 10 days following the expiry of the time limit for filing the statement of appeal, the appellant shall file a brief stating the facts and legal arguments giving rise to the appeal with the CAS (cf. point 4 of the directives). The full address and contact numbers of the CAS are the following: Court of Arbitration for Sport Avenue de Beaumont 2 1012 Lausanne Switzerland Tel: +41 21 613 50 00 Fax: +41 21 613 50 01 e-mail: info@tas-cas.org www.tas-cas.org For the Dispute Resolution Chamber: Jérôme Valcke Secretary General Encl. CAS directives