F.I.F.A. – Dispute Resolution Chamber / Camera di Risoluzione delle Controversie – solidarity contribution/ contributo di solidarietà – (2020-2021) – fifa.com – atto non ufficiale – Decision 10 February 2021

Decision of the

Single Judge of the sub-committee of

The Dispute Resolution Chamber

passed on 10 February 2021

regarding training compensation for the player Ekemini Ukoebe EKEREUKE

BY:

Stefano Sartori (Italy), Single Judge of the sub-committee of the Dispute Resolution Chamber

CLAIMANT:

FC LORI, Armenia

RESPONDENT:

AKWA UNITED FC, Nigeria

I. FACTS OF THE CASE

Player: Ekemini Ukoebe EKEREUKE

Date of birth: 31 December 1998

Player passports:

Registration dates of the player as per the player passport issued by the Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) on 30 September 2019:

Season Birthday Club(s) Registration dates Status Registration 18/19 20th Vanadzor Football Academy 02/08/2018 – 15/06/2019 Professional Permanent

Registration dates of the player as per the player passport issued by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on 24 May 2019:

Season Birthday Club(s) Registration dates Status Registration 10/14 N/A

15/18

17th- 20th

P Sports Football Academy

01/01/2015 – 30/07/2018

Amateur

Permanent

Sporting season: 1 July to 30 June (Armenia)

Date of transfer: 30 August 2019, from FC LORI (also known as Vanadzor Football Academy) (Armenia) to Akwa United FC (Nigeria) as professional

Transfer instruction: the player was “Engaged permanently (out of contract)” by the Respondent from the former club and “the player and his former club mutually agreed an early termination” on 15 June 2019.

Claimant club: FC LORI (Armenia)

Respondent club: Akwa United FC (Nigeria)

CAF, category II (USD 30,000 per year)

Claim and Response:

1. On 21 December 2020, the Claimant claimed training compensation in the amount of USD 26,219.17 for the subsequent registration of the player as professional with the Respondent, plus 5% interest “as of the due date”.

2. In its calculations, the Claimant took the amount set in the category II of CAF, i.e. USD 30,000 per year, and multiplied it pro rata by the 319 days the player was registered with it. In this respect, the Claimant considered that the player was registered with it as of 1 August 2019.

3. On 4 January 2021, the FIFA administration submitted a proposal to the parties, informing them that it was of the opinion that the Respondent should pay the amount of USD 26,054.79 to the Claimant as training compensation.

4. The proposal was accepted by the Claimant and rejected by the Respondent.

5. On 2 February 2021, the Respondent rejected the claim of the Claimant arguing that the player was already a professional when he was registered with it and was a free agent when it recruited him.

6. The Respondent deemed that in accordance with CAS jurisprudence, no training compensation is payable when a professional player is registered as free agent following a contract termination.

7. The Respondent added that no evidence had been provided to confirm that the contract between the player and the Claimant had not been terminated without just cause. In view of the provisions set out in art. 2 par. 2 lit. i) of Annexe 4 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP), the Respondent insisted that training compensation was not due to the Claimant.

8. Alternatively, the Respondent considered the claimed amount excessive and requested FIFA to reduce it taking into account that it had participated in the player’s training during his younger years. In fact, the Respondent argued that the player had been registered with it between 15 December 2016 and 15 November 2017. In support of its allegation the Respondent provided a copy of the “Registration of player under written contract” (“Form E”) of the Nigeria Professional Football League referring to the aforementioned registration; a copy of the employment contract concluded with the player on 15 December 2016; a copy of the player’s registration card for the relevant period of time; and a copy of the player’s “Domestic transfer certificate” referring to its registration with the Respondent on 12 January 2017.

9. The Respondent added that no training compensation had been paid by the Claimant to the former club of the player, P Sports Academy (Nigeria) and that in its opinion, it was immoral for the Claimant to receive itself training compensation.

10. The Respondent provided a copy of the agreement dated 25 July 2018 signed by the Claimant and P Sports Football Academy, according to which the latter renounced to receive training compensation in exchange for a sell-on clause to be added in the contract.

II. LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

Applicable law: RSTP: June 2019 edition.

Procedural Rules: 2021 edition.

Jurisdiction: yes, uncontested

Admissible: yes, uncontested

Decision:

1. The Claimant requested the payment of training compensation on the basis of the subsequent registration of the player as professional with the Respondent.

2. The Respondent contested the entitlement of the Claimant to receive training compensation arguing that the employment contract of the player had been terminated without just cause.

3. In accordance with art. 20 of the RSTP as well as art. 1 par. 1 of Annexe 4 in combination with art. 2 par. 1 lit. b) of Annexe 4 of the RSTP, training compensation is payable, as general rule, for training incurred between the age of 12 and 21 when a professional is transferred between clubs of two different associations before the end of the season of his 23rd birthday,

4. Art. 2 par. 2 lit. a) of Annexe 4 of the RSTP establishes that no training compensation is due if the former club terminates the player’s contract without just cause.

5. The Respondent did not provide any documentary evidence in support of the allegation that the employment contract of the player was terminated without just cause by the Respondent.

6. Taking into account the information included in TMS and considering the lack of evidence as to the contrary (cfr. Art. 12 par. 3 of the Procedural Rules), it has to be assumed that the employment contract between the player and the Claimant was mutually ended.

7. The Respondent further contested the entitlement of the Claimant to receive training compensation arguing that the player had been registered with it as an out of contract professional player.

8. The player was registered with the Respondent before the end of his 23rd birthday season as a professional, after having been registered with his former club as a professional before the end of his 21st birthday season.

9. The provisions set out in art. 20 and Annexe 4 of the RSTP apply to the subsequent registration of the player as a professional with the Respondent from his former club, i.e. the Claimant.

10. The references to CAS jurisprudence made by the Respondent appear to be inaccurate and taken out of context since both the DRC and CAS acknowledge that training compensation is due to the former club in case of subsequent registration of an out of contract professional player.

11. The fact that the player might have been registered as a professional with the Respondent between 15 December 2016 and 15 November 2017 has no impact on the entitlement of the Claimant to receive training compensation.

12. Equally, the question of whether P Sports Academy, renounced to receive training compensation from the Claimant or not does not affect the Claimant’s entitlement to receive training compensation.

13. In accordance with art. 2 par. 1 lit. b) and 3 par. 1 of Annexe 4 of the RSTP, the Claimant is entitled to receive training compensation from the Respondent.

14. It is undisputed that the player was registered with the Claimant as indicated in the player passport issued by the FFA on 30 September 2019, i.e. as from 02 August 2018 until 15 June 2019.

15. It is also uncontested that the Respondent did not pay to the Claimant training compensation resulting from the registration of the player with the latter.

16. In accordance with art. 3 par. 1 of Annexe 4 of the RSTP the new club of a player has to pay training compensation upon his subsequent international transfer as a professional to his former club for the time he was effectively trained by that club.

17. To calculate the training compensation due to a player’s former club(s), it is necessary to take the costs that would have been incurred by the new club if it had trained the player itself (cfr. Art. 5 par. 1 of Annexe 4 of the RSTP). In case of subsequent transfers, training compensation is calculated based on the training costs of the new club multiplied by the numbers of years of training with the former club.

18. In order to calculate the amount of training compensation due to the Claimant, the following has to be taken into account:

(i) 2018-2019 season (season of the Player’s 20th birthday): 318 days

19. The training costs are calculated, on a pro-rata basis, as follows:

(i) 2018-2019 season - on the basis of a category II club, i.e. for CAF, USD 30,000 per year (cfr. Art. 5 par. 2 of Annexe 4 of the RSTP):

USD 30,000 x (318 / 365) = USD 26,054.79

20. In view of the above, the Claimant is entitled to receive the sum of USD 26,054.79 as training compensation from the Respondent.

21. The claim of the Claimant is partially accepted.

22. Taking into account the request of the Claimant as well as art. 3 par. 2 of Annexe 4 of the RSTP, the Respondent has to pay, in conformity with the longstanding practice of the DRC, interest of 5% p.a. over the amount payable as training compensation as of 31 days after the registration of the player with it, i.e. one day after the amount was due, in casu as from 30 September 2019 until the date of effective payment.

23. No procedural costs are levied (cf. arts. 17 par. 1 and 18 par. 1 of the Rules Governing the Procedure of the Players’ Status Committee and Dispute Resolution Chamber).

24. Art. 24 bis is applicable.

III. DECISION

1. The claim of the Claimant, FC Lori, is partially accepted.

2. The Respondent, Akwa United FC, shall pay to the Claimant:

- USD 26,054.79 as training compensation, plus 5% interest per annum on that amount as from 30 September 2019, until the date of effective payment.

3. Any further claim of the Claimant is rejected.

4. The Claimant shall immediately inform the Respondent of the bank account to which the Respondent must pay the due amount (including all applicable interest).

5. The Respondent shall provide evidence of full payment to chhelpdesk@fifa.org. If applicable, the evidence shall be translated into an official FIFA language (English, French, German, Spanish).

6. If the due amount (including all applicable interest) is not paid by the Respondent within 45 days as from notification of the bank account details, the following consequences shall apply:

 1. 2.

The Respondent shall be banned from registering any new players, either nationally or internationally, up until the due amount is paid and for the maximum duration of three entire and consecutive registration periods.

The ban will be lifted immediately, and prior to its complete serving, following confirmation that the due amount (including all applicable interest) has been received by the Claimant. 3.

In the event that the payable amount as per in this decision is still not paid by the end of the ban of three entire and consecutive registration periods, the present matter shall be submitted, upon request, to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.

7. No procedural costs are payable (cf. arts. 17 par. 1 and 18 par. 1 of the Rules Governing the Procedure of the Players’ Status Committee and Dispute Resolution Chamber).

For the Single Judge of the sub-committee of the Dispute Resolution Chamber:

Emilio García Silvero

Chief Legal & Compliance Officer

NOTE RELATED TO THE APPEAL PROCEDURE:

Pursuant to article 58 par. 1 of the FIFA Statutes, this decision may be appealed against before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 21 days of notification.

NOTE RELATED TO PUBLICATION:

FIFA may publish this decision. For reasons of confidentiality, FIFA may decide, at the request of a party within five days of the notification of the motivated decision, to publish an anonymised or a redacted version (cf. article 20 of the Procedural Rules).

CONTACT INFORMATION:

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