F.I.F.A. – Dispute Resolution Chamber / Camera di Risoluzione delle Controversie – solidarity contribution/ contributo di solidarietà – (2016-2017) – fifa.com – atto non ufficiale – Decision 18 March 2016

Decision of the

Dispute Resolution Chamber

passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 18 March 2016,

in the following composition:

Geoff Thompson (England), Chairman

Philippe Piat (France), member

John Bramhall (England), member

Theodore Giannikos (Greece), member

Zola Majavu (South Africa), member

on the claim presented by the club,

Club A, country B

as Claimant

against the club,

Club C, country D

as Respondent

regarding a training compensation dispute

related to the transfer of the Player E

I. Facts of the case

1. According to the player passports issued by the Football Federation of country B and the Football Federation of country J, the player, Player E (hereinafter: the player), born on 20 January 1995, was registered with the following clubs as follows:

- Club A

(hereinafter: the Claimant), as from 8 August 2002 until 21 June 2010 as

an amateur (in country B);

- Club F as from 17 July 2010 until 1 July 2012 as an

amateur (in country B);

- Club G as from 6 July 2012 until 27 May 2013 as an

amateur (in country B);

- Club H as from 5 August 2013 until 30 June 2014 as

an amateur (in country B);

- Club I as from 21 August 2014 until “15 December

2014” as an amateur (in country J).

2. The football season in country B lasts from 1 July until 30 June of the following year.

3. According to the information contained in the Transfer Matching System (TMS), the player was provisionally registered with the club from country D, Club C (hereinafter: the Respondent) on 23 September 2014 as a professional and said club belonged to the category II (indicative amount of EUR 60,000 per year within UEFA) during the season when the player was registered with the club.

4. On 29 September 2015, the Claimant contacted FIFA requesting training compensation in an amount of EUR 39,753.42 on the ground that the player, on 23 September 2014, was registered for the first time as a professional with the Respondent. In addition, the Claimant requested 5% interest p.a. as of 24 October 2014.

5. In spite of having been invited by FIFA to provide its position regarding the claim, the Respondent did not respond to the claims or make any statements at all during the course of the investigation.

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 case at hand. In this respect, it took note that the present matter was submitted to FIFA on 29 September 2015. Consequently, the 2015 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 2015 edition of the Procedural Rules).

2. Subsequently, the members of the Chamber referred to art. 3 par. 1 and 2 of the Procedural Rules, and confirmed that in accordance with art. 24 par. 1 in connection with art. 22 lit. d) of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (edition 2015), the Dispute Resolution Chamber is competent to decide on the present matter relating to training compensation between clubs belonging to different associations.

3. Furthermore, 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 (editions 2014 and 2015), and considering that the player was registered with the Respondent on 23 September 2014, the 2014 edition of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (hereinafter: the Regulations) is applicable to the matter at hand as to the substance.

4. The competence of the DRC and the applicable regulations having been established, the Chamber entered into the substance of the matter. In doing so, the Chamber started by acknowledging the above-mentioned facts of the case as well as the documents contained in the file. However, the DRC emphasized 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 members of the DRC took note that the Claimant asserted that it was entitled to receive training compensation from the Respondent in the amount of EUR 39,753.42 indicating that the player, on 23 September 2014, was registered as a professional for the first time with the Respondent.

6. Equally, the DRC noted that the Respondent failed to present its response to the claim of the Claimant, despite having been invited to do so. Therefore, the DRC deemed that, the Respondent renounced its right to defence and, thus, accepted the allegations of the Claimant.

7. As a consequence of the aforementioned consideration, the DRC established that in accordance with art. 9 par. 3 of the Procedural Rules it shall take a decision upon the basis of the documents already on file, in other words upon the statements and documents presented by the Claimant.

8. Having established the above, the Chamber referred to the rules applicable to training compensation and stated that, as established in art. 1 par. 1 of Annexe 4 in combination with art. 2 par. 1 lit. i. 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. In case the player is registered for the first time as a professional, art. 3 par. 1 sent. 1 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations sets forth that the club with which the player is registered is responsible for paying training compensation within 30 days of registration to every club with which the player has previously been registered and that has contributed to his training starting from the season of his 12th birthday. Based on the documentation provided by the Football Federation of country B, the Football Federation of country J and the information contained in TMS, the Chamber concluded that it could indeed be established that the player had been registered for the first time as a professional with the Respondent.

9. In continuation, the DRC observed that it was undisputed that the player, who was an amateur, was registered as a professional for the first time with a club belonging to a different association, i.e. the Respondent, before the end of the season of his 23rd birthday. In view of the foregoing, the DRC decided that the Respondent is liable to pay training compensation to the Claimant.

10. Turning its attention to the calculation of training compensation, the Chamber referred to art. 5 par. 1 and 2 of Annexe 4 to 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.

11. In continuation, the Chamber recalled that the player was born on 20 January 1995 and was registered with the Claimant as from 8 August 2002 until 21 June 2010.

12. On account of the above, the DRC considered that the Claimant is, thus, entitled to receive training compensation for the period as from 1 July 2006 until 21 June 2010.

13. Equally, the DRC recalled that according to the information contained in the TMS the player was registered with the Respondent on 23 September 2014 as a professional.

14. In view of all of the above and taking into account the amount claimed by the Claimant, the DRC decided to accept the Claimant’s claim and held that the Respondent is liable to pay the amount of EUR 39,753.42 to the Claimant as training compensation in relation to the first registration of the player as a professional with the Respondent.

15. Moreover, taking into consideration the Claimant’s claim, the Chamber decided that the Respondent has to pay, in conformity with its longstanding practice, interest at 5% p.a. over the amount payable as training compensation as of the date when the claim was lodged, i.e. 24 October 2014.

16. Lastly, the DRC referred to art. 25 par. 2 of the Regulations in conjunction with art. 18 par. 1 of the Procedural Rules, according to which, in proceedings before the DRC relating to disputes regarding training compensation and the solidarity mechanism, 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 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 39,753.42 related to the claim of the Claimant. Consequently, the Chamber concluded that the maximum amount of costs of the proceedings corresponds to CHF 5,000 (cf. table in Annex A).

18. As a result, and taking into account that the Claimant is the successful party in the proceeding as well as that the Respondent never replied to the claim, the Chamber determined the final costs of the current proceedings to the amount of CHF 5,000 which shall be borne by the Respondent.

III. Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber

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 39,753.42 plus 5% interest p.a. on said amount as of 24 October 2014 until the date of effective payment.

3. In the event that the aforementioned sum plus interest is 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 5,000 are to be paid by the Respondent within 30 days as from the date of notification of the present decision, to FIFA to the following bank account with reference to case xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:

UBS Zurich

Account number 366.677.01U (FIFA Players’ Status)

Clearing number 230

IBAN: CH 27 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 remittance under point 2. above is 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

For the Dispute Resolution Chamber:

__________________________________

Markus Kattner

Acting Secretary General

Training Compensation for the Player E

(Club A, country B / Club C, country D)

8

Enclosed: CAS directives