F.I.F.A. – Players’ Status Committee / Commissione per lo Status dei Calciatori – club vs club disputes / controversie tra società – (2016-2017) – fifa.com – atto non ufficiale – Decision 15 June 2016

Decision of the Single Judge

of the Players’ Status Committee

passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 15 June 2016,

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 relating to the

Player E

I. Facts of the case

1. On 2 February 2015, the Club of Country B Club A (hereinafter: the Claimant) and the Club of Country D Club C (hereinafter: the Respondent) signed a loan agreement (hereinafter: the agreement) for the temporary transfer of Player E (hereinafter: the player) from the Claimant to the Respondent.

2. The agreement stipulated that the Claimant was entitled to receive from the Respondent the amount of USD 250,000 payable “24 hours later than ITC confirmation in Football Federation of Country D and Club C [i.e. the Respondent] get player license from Football Federation of Country D”.

3. According to clause 2.4 of the agreement, “Club A [i.e. the Claimant] will have to provide a valid invoice and new tax residency certificate to Club C [i.e. the Respondent]”.

4. On 8 February 2015, the Claimant lodged a claim in front of FIFA against the Respondent requesting from the latter the payment of the total amount of USD 250,000 stipulated in the agreement as well as 5% interests p.a. on said amount and legal costs in the amount of EUR 7,800. According to the Claimant, despite having requested the payment of the agreed amount to the Respondent by means of several correspondences, the latter never paid the amount agreed upon in the agreement.

5. On 9 November 2015, the Respondent rejected the Claimant’s request in its entirety and considered that the Claimant had failed to provide a valid invoice and a tax residency certificate as established in clause 2.4 of the agreement.

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 edition of the Rules Governing the Procedures of the Players’ Status Committee and the Dispute Resolution Chamber (hereinafter: Procedural Rules) were applicable to the matter at hand. In this respect, he referred to art. 21 of the Procedural Rules as well as to the fact that the present matter was submitted to FIFA on 8 February 2015. Therefore, the Single Judge concluded that the 2014 edition of the Procedural Rules is applicable to the matter at hand.

2. Subsequently, the Single Judge analysed which edition of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players is applicable as to the substance of the matter. In this respect, he referred, on the one hand, to art. 26 par. 1 and 2 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players and, on the other hand, once again to the fact that the claim was lodged in front of FIFA on 8 February 2015. In view of the foregoing, the Single Judge concluded that the 2014 edition of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (hereinafter: the Regulations) is applicable to the case at hand.

3. Furthermore, the Single Judge confirmed that, on the basis of art. 3 par. 1 and par. 2 of the Procedural Rules in connection with art. 23 par. 1 and par. 3 as well as art. 22 lit. f) of the Regulations, he was competent to deal with the present matter since it concerned a dispute between clubs affiliated to two different associations.

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 emphasised that in the following considerations he will refer only to the facts, arguments and documentary evidence which he considered pertinent for the assessment of the matter at hand.

5. In this respect, the Single Judge noted that the parties had signed a loan agreement on 2 February 2015 for the temporary transfer of the player from the Claimant to the Respondent for the amount of USD 250,000 “24 hours later than ITC confirmation in Football Federation of Country D and Club C get player license from the Football Federation of Country D”.

6. Having established the aforementioned, the Single Judge took note that the Claimant maintained that it was entitled to receive USD 250,000 from the Respondent, indicating that the Respondent had not yet paid the amount due in accordance with the agreement. Equally, the Claimant deemed that it was entitled to 5% interest p.a. on the agreed amount.

7. In continuation, the Single Judge observed that, in its reply, the Respondent rejected the claim, alleging that the Claimant had failed to provide a valid invoice and a tax residency certificate as established in clause 2.4 of the agreement.

8. Having analysed the argumentation and documentation put forward by the parties in the present matter, the Single Judge first concluded that it remained undisputed by the Respondent that it still owed the Claimant the amount of USD 250,000. In this respect, the Single Judge considered that the arguments raised by the Respondent cannot be considered a valid reason for the non-payment of the monies claimed by the Claimant, in order words, the lack of invoice and tax residency certificate, are just formal requirements that do not exempt the Respondent from its obligation to fulfil its contractual obligations towards the Claimant.

9. Consequently, the Single Judge decided to reject the argumentation put forward by the Respondent in its defence and determined 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 pay the Claimant the aforementioned amount of USD 250,000.

10. In continuation, the Single Judge addressed the remaining requests of the Claimant, namely, its request that the Respondent should be condemned to pay 5% interest per year on the requested amount.

11. In this regard and in accordance with the constant and longstanding jurisprudence, the Single Judge determined that the Respondent has to pay to the Claimant the total amount of USD 250,000, plus an interest at a rate of 5% per year on the said amount as from 8 February 2015 until the date of effective payment.

12. In addition, as regards the claimed legal costs in the amount of EUR 7,800, the Single Judge referred to art. 18 par. 4 of the Procedural Rules as well as to its long-standing and well-established jurisprudence, in accordance with which no procedural compensation shall be awarded in proceedings in front of the Players´ Status Committee. Consequently, the Single Judge decided to reject the Claimant’s request relating to legal costs.

13. 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).

14. In respect of the above, and taking into account that the Claimant’s claim is partially accepted, the Single Judge concluded that the Respondent has to bear the costs of the current proceedings before FIFA.

15. Furthermore and 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. On that basis, the Single Judge held that the amount to be taken into consideration in the present proceedings is USD 250,000. Consequently, the Single Judge concluded that the maximum amount of costs of the proceedings corresponds to CHF 25,000.

16. In conclusion, and considering the particularities of the present matter, the Single Judge determined the costs of the current proceedings to the amount of CHF 12,000. Furthermore, and in line with his aforementioned considerations and taking into account the degree of success, the Single Judge decided that the amount of 12,000 has to be paid by the Respondent.

III. Decision of the Single Judge of the Players’ Status Committee

1. The claim of the Claimant, Club A, is partially accepted.

2. The Respondent, Club C, has to pay to the Claimant, Club A, within 30 days as from the date of notification of the present decision, the total amount of USD 250,000, plus an interest at a rate of 5% per year on the said amount from 8 February 2015 until the date of effective payment.

3. If the aforementioned sum, plus interest as established above, is not paid within the aforementioned deadline, 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 12,000 are to be paid by the Respondent, Club C, within 30 days as from the date of notification of the present decision, as follows:

4.1 The amount of CHF 7,000 have to be paid directly to FIFA to the following bank account:

UBS Zurich

Account number 366.677.01U (FIFA Players’ Status)

Clearing number 230

IBAN: CH27 0023 0230 3666 7701U

SWIFT: UBSWCHZH80A

4.2 The amount of CHF 5 000 has to be paid to the Claimant, Club A.

5. The Claimant, Club A, is directed to inform the Respondent, Club C, immediately and directly of the account number to which the remittances under point 2., and 4.2 above are to be made and to notify the Players’ Status Committee of every payment received.

*****

Note relating to the motivated decision (legal remedy):

According to article 58 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

For the Single Judge of the

Players’ Status Committee

Marco Villiger

Deputy Secretary General

Encl. CAS Directives