F.I.F.A. – Commissione per lo Status dei Calciatori (2014-2015) – controversie tra società – ———- F.I.F.A. – Players’ Status Committee (2014-2015) – club vs. club disputes – official version by www.fifa.com – Decision of the Single Judge of the Players’ Status Committee passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 14 October 2014, by Geoff Thompson (England) Single Judge of the Players’ Status Committee, on the claim presented by the club, Club A, country B as Claimant against the club, Club C, country D as Respondent regarding a contractual dispute between the parties and relating to the transfer of the Player E I. Facts of the case 1.

F.I.F.A. - Commissione per lo Status dei Calciatori (2014-2015) – controversie tra società – ---------- F.I.F.A. - Players’ Status Committee (2014-2015) – club vs. club disputes – official version by www.fifa.com – Decision of the Single Judge of the Players’ Status Committee passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 14 October 2014, by Geoff Thompson (England) Single Judge of the Players’ Status Committee, on the claim presented by the club, Club A, country B as Claimant against the club, Club C, country D as Respondent regarding a contractual dispute between the parties and relating to the transfer of the Player E I. Facts of the case 1. On 31 March 2013, the club from country B, Club A (hereinafter: the Claimant) and the club from country D, Club C (hereinafter: the Respondent), concluded an agreement in order to settle a dispute regarding the payment of transfer compensation (hereinafter: the agreement) for the transfer of the Player E (hereinafter: the player), from the Claimant to the Respondent. 2. The agreement stipulated, inter alia, the following payment obligations of the Respondent: “€ 20.000/00 net + € 5.263/25 like a solidarity contribution by date of 6th May 2013, and then the remaining € 80.000/00 in 4 (four) instalments by the date of: - € 20.000/00 by the date of 30th June 2013 - € 20.000/00 by the date of 30th August 2013 - € 20.000/00 by the date of 31st October 2013 - € 20.000/00 by the date of 31st December 2013“ 3. On 11 November 2013, the Claimant lodged a claim at FIFA requesting from the Respondent the payment of the amount of EUR 60,000 for the three instalments of EUR 20,000 each, which respectively fell due on 30 June 2013, 30 August 2013 and 31 October 2013. 4. In support of its claim, the Claimant stated that after receiving the first instalment of EUR 25,263, the Respondent failed to comply with its contractual obligations. 5. In spite of having been asked to do so, the Respondent never provided FIFA with its position on the claim of the Claimant. II. Considerations of the Single Judge of the Players’ Status Committee 1. First of all, the Single Judge of the Players’ Status Committee (hereinafter: the Single Judge) analysed which whether he was competent to deal with the present matter. In this respect, he took note that the matter was submitted to FIFA on 11 November 2013. 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 in hand (cf. art. 21 of the Procedural Rules). 2. Subsequently, the Single Judge referred to art. 3 of the Procedural Rules and confirmed that in accordance with art. 23 par. 1 and 3 in combination with art. 22 lit. f) of the 2014 edition of the Regulations, he is competent to deal with the matter at sake since it concerned a dispute between two clubs affiliated to two different associations. 3. Furthermore, the Single Judge 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, he confirmed that in accordance with art. 26 par. 1 and 2 of the 2014 edition of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players and considering that the present claim was lodged with FIFA on 11 November 2013, the 2012 edition of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (hereinafter: the Regulations) is applicable to the present matter as to the substance. 4. The competence of the Single Judge and the applicable regulations having been established, and entering into the substance of the matter, the Single Judge started by acknowledging the above-mentioned facts as well as the arguments and the documentation submitted by the parties. However, the Single Judge emphasized that in the following considerations he will refer only to the facts, arguments and the documentary evidence which he considered pertinent for the assessment of the matter at hand. 5. In this respect and first of all, the Single Judge established that it was undisputed between the parties that they concluded, on 31 March 2013, an agreement in order to settle a dispute regarding the payment of transfer compensation for the transfer of the player from the Claimant to the Respondent. Furthermore, the Single Judge noted that the agreement provided for the payment of transfer compensation in the total amount of EUR 105,263.25, payable as follows: EUR 20,000 and EUR 5.263.25 payable by 6 May 2013, and four further instalments of EUR 20,000 each, payable on 30 June 2013, 30 August 2013, 31 October 2013 and 31 December 2013, respectively. 6. The Single Judge also acknowledged that the Claimant lodged a claim against the Respondent, stating that after receiving the first instalment of EUR 25,263, the Respondent had not fulfilled its payment obligation with regards to the agreement. As a consequence, the Claimant requested the payment of the amount of EUR 60,000 for the three instalments of EUR 20,000 each, which respectively fell due on 30 June 2013, 30 August 2013 and 31 October 2013. However, the Single Judge also noted that the Claimant did not request the payment of the fourth and final instalment provided for in the agreement, which fell due on 31 December 2013. 7. In continuation, the Single Judge noted that the Respondent, in spite of having been invited to do so, did not provide FIFA with its comments pertaining to the present matter. Therefore, the Single Judged deemed that, by doing so, the Respondent renounced to its right to defence, and, thus, accepted the allegations of the Claimant. 8. As a consequence, the Single Judge referred to art. 9 par. 3 of the Procedural Rules and pointed out that in the present matter a decision shall be taken upon the basis of the documentation on file, in other words upon the documents and arguments provided by the Claimant. 9. Bearing in mind the aforementioned, the Single Judge went on to establish whether there was any payment due by the Respondent to the Claimant, based on the transfer agreement in question. 10. In this respect, the Single Judge recalled the contents of the agreement, i.e. the obligation of the Respondent to pay the outstanding amount of EUR 60,000, payable in three instalments of EUR 20,000 each, which respectively fell due on 30 June 2013, 30 August 2013 and 31 October 2013. Equally, the Single Judge recalled that the Claimant stated that the Respondent, after fulfilling its contractual obligation with regard to the payment of the first instalment in the amount of EUR 25,263, had not made any subsequent payments to the Claimant. 11. Taking into account the above-mentioned, the Single Judge concluded that in accordance with the basic legal principle of pacta sunt servanda, which in essence means that agreements must be respected by the parties in good faith, the Respondent has to fulfill its contractual obligations towards the Claimant. Therefore, and taking into account the claim of the Claimant, the Single Judge decided that the Respondent has to pay to the Claimant the outstanding amount of EUR 60,000 to the Claimant. Consequently, the Single Judge decided to accept the claim of the Claimant. 12. Lastly, the Single Judge 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 Players’ Status Committee including its Single Judge, costs in the maximum amount of CHF 25’000 are levied. The relevant provision further states that the costs are to be borne in consideration of the parties’ degree of success in the proceedings (cf. art. 18 par. 1 of the Procedural Rules). 13. In respect of the above, and taking into account that the claim of the Claimant has been accepted, the Single Judge concluded that the procedural costs are to be borne by the Respondent. 14. According to Annexe A of the Procedural Rules, the costs of the proceedings are to be levied on the basis of the amount in dispute. 15. On that basis, the Single Judge held that the amount to be taken into consideration in the present proceedings is EUR 60,000 related to the claim of the Claimant. Consequently, the Single Judge concluded that the maximum amount of costs of the proceedings corresponds to CHF 10,000 (cf. table in Annexe A.) 16. Considering that the claim of the Claimant was fully accepted, bearing in mind that the Respondent never replied to the claim although having been invited to do so by FIFA, the Single Judge determined the costs of the current proceedings to the amount of CHF 10,000. ***** III. Decision of the Single Judge of the Players’ Status Committee 1. The claim of the Claimant, Club A, is 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 60,000. 3. If the aforementioned amount is not paid within the stated time limit, interest at the rate of 5% p.a. will apply as of the expiry of the stipulated time limit and the present matter shall be submitted, upon request, to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee for consideration and a formal decision. 4. The final amount of costs of the proceedings in the amount of CHF 10,000 are to be paid by the Respondent, within 30 days as from the date of notification of the present decision, as follows: 4.1. The amount of CHF 1,000 directly to the Claimant. 4.2. The amount of CHF 9,000 to FIFA to the following bank account with reference to case nr. XXXX: UBS Zurich Account number 366.677.01U (FIFA Players’ Status) Clearing number 230 IBAN: CH27 0023 0230 3666 7701U SWIFT: UBSWCHZH80A 5. The Claimant is directed to inform the Respondent immediately and directly of the account number to which the remittances under point 2. and 4.1. are to be made and to notify the Single Judge of the Players’ Status Committee 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 Single Judge of the Players’ Status Committee Markus Kattner Deputy Secretary General Encl. CAS directives