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 26 February 2021

Decision of the Single Judge of the

sub-committee of the

Dispute Resolution Chamber

passed on 26 February 2021

regarding training compensation for the player Panagiotis Armenakas

BY:

Stefano Sartori (Italy), Single Judge of the sub-committee of the DRC

CLAIMANT:

AFC Tubize, Belgium

RESPONDENT:

PANATHINAIKOS FC, Greece

I. FACTS OF THE CASE

Player: Panagiotis ARMENAKAS

Date of birth: 5 August 1998

Player passport: issued by the Union royale belge des sociétés de football association (URBSFA) on 28 October 2020:

Season Birthday Club(s) Registration dates Status 17/18 19th AFC Tubize 17/07/17 – 30/06/18 Professional (Loan)

18/19

20th

Udinese Calcio (Italy)

01/07/18 – onwards

Professional (Permanent)

Sporting season: 1 July to 30 June (Belgium)

Date of transfer: 25 January 2019, from Udinese Calcio (Italy) to PANATHINAIKOS FC (Greece) as professional

Claimant club: AFC Tubize (Belgium)

UEFA, category II (EUR 60,000 per year)

Respondent club: PANATHINAIKOS FC (Greece)

UEFA, category II (EUR 60,000 per year)

Claim and Response:

1. On 30 December 2020, the Claimant requested EUR 57,205.45 as training compensation “plus 5% interest p.a. as of the due date” for the subsequent registration of the player as a professional within the territory of the EU/EEA.

2. The Claimant is basing its claim on the jurisprudence developed by the DRC according to which a club which had the player on loan from its parent club is in principle entitled to claim training compensation from the player’s next club should the player be registered permanently as a professional.

3. In its calculation, the Claimant took into consideration the average of its and the Respondent’s categories, i.e. EUR 60,000, which it multiplied pro rata by the 348 days the player was registered with the Claimant.

4. On 11 January 2020, the 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 EUR 57,205.48 to the Claimant as training compensation, plus 5% interests p.a. as from 25 February 2019.

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

6. On 26 January 2021, the Respondent argued that the Claimant had waived its rights to training compensation and provided a document entitled “Private Agreement”, dated 17 January 2019, signed and stamped by the Claimant and the Respondent.

7. In accordance with art.1 “Training Compensation/Waiver” of said document “[The Claimant] hereby declares that it waives of any possible claim now or in the future regarding any amount as training compensation regarding the player, in case [the Respondent] signs a professional football player’s contract with the player, during Winter’s 2019 transfer period”.

8. The Respondent additionally provided the following documentation:

- an email correspondence held between 16 January and 21 January 2019 with the Claimant and by means of which, the Respondent and the Claimant exchanged the aforementioned document for comments, stamps and signatures;

- a copy of the employment contract the Respondent signed with the player on 23 January 2019, i.e. during the January 2019 training period.

9. Despite having been invited to provide FIFA with its comments on the aforementioned document, i.e. the waiver, the Respondent did not submit its replica.

II. LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

Applicable law: Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP): June 2018 edition.

Rules Governing the Procedures of the Players’ Status Committee and the Dispute Resolution Chamber (Procedural Rules): 2021 edition.

Decision:

1. The claim of the Claimant is basing its claim on the subsequent transfer of the player as a professional between clubs of two different associations.

2. The Claimant is not the former club of the player in line with art. 2 par. 1 lit. b) of the RSTP.

3. The Claimant bases its request on the jurisprudence of the Dispute Resolution Chamber according to which, when a player registers with a club affiliated to a different member association (i.e. the new club, in casu the Respondent) from the one where he was previously registered (i.e. the former club, in casu Udinese Calcio), any club(s) that may have had the player on loan from the player’s former club should be entitled to claim training compensation from the new club (in casu the Claimant).

4. The Respondent rejected the claim of the Claimant arguing that the latter had waived its rights to receive training compensation.

5. The Claimant did not contest having signed the document entitled “Private Agreement” provided by the Respondent.

6. In accordance with the well-established jurisprudence of the DRC, a club that is entitled to receive training compensation for a particular player may waive such right.

7. In order to be valid, a waiver for training compensation must be clear and unambiguous and needs to have been signed by the relevant club.

8. The document provided by the Respondent was printed on the letterhead of the Respondent, was dated of 17 January 2019 and had been signed and stamped by both the Claimant and the Respondent.

9. The document in question clearly indicates the Claimant’s intention to waive its rights to receive training compensation for the player should the latter sign an employment contract with the Respondent during the winter transfer window of 2019.

10. The player signed an employment contract with the Respondent on 23 January 2019.

11. In view of all of the above and because the Claimant validly waived its right to receive training compensation for the player, the claim of the latter has to be rejected.

12. 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).

III. DECISION

1. The claim of the Claimant, AFC Tubize, is rejected.

2. No procedural costs are payable (cf. arts. 17 par. 1 and 18 par. 1 lit.i) 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 DRC:

Emilio García Silvero

Chief Legal & Compliance Officer

NOTE RELATED TO THE APPEAL PROCEDURE:

Pursuant to article 58 paragraph 1 of the FIFA Statutes, this decision may be appealed before the Court of Arbitration for Sport 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).

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