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,

Geoff Thompson (England), Chairman

Theodore Giannikos (Greece), member

Zola Majavu (South Africa), member

Philippe Piat (France), member

John Bramhall (England), member

on the claim presented by the club,

Club A, country B

as Claimant

against the club,

Club C, country D

as Respondent

regarding solidarity contribution in connection with the transfer

of the Player E

I. Facts of the case

1. According to the player passport issued by the Football Confederation of country B (hereinafter: Football Confederation of country B), the Player E (hereinafter: player), born on 16 June 1986, was registered with the club from country B, Club A (hereinafter: Claimant) as from 1 July 1997 until 31 July 2008 and as from 1 December 2008 until 31 May 2009.

2. According to the Football Confederation of country B, the football season in country B, during the period of time the player was registered with the Claimant, followed the calendar year and therefore started on 1 January and ended on 31 December.

3. The Football Federation of country D confirmed that the player was registered with its affiliated club, Club C (hereinafter: Respondent), on 2 February 2015.

4. According to the information and documentation entered by the relevant clubs in the Transfer Matching System (hereinafter: TMS) in connection with the transfer of the player from Club F to the Respondent, Club F and the Respondent agreed on a transfer compensation in the amount of EUR 2,000,000 payable by the Respondent on 15 February 2015.

5. On 27 March 2015, the Claimant lodged a claim in front of FIFA against the Respondent claiming its proportion of the solidarity contribution in connection with the above-mentioned transfer of the player. In particular, the Claimant requested 91.643% of 5% of the transfer compensation, plus 5% interest p.a. as of 30 days after the player’s registration with the Respondent.

6. Despite being invited to do so, the Respondent has not replied to the claim of the Claimant.

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, the Chamber took note that the present matter was submitted to FIFA on 27 March 2015. Consequently, the Rules Governing the Procedures of the Players’ Status Committee and the Dispute Resolution Chamber (edition 2015; hereinafter: Procedural Rules) are applicable to the matter at hand (cf. art. 21 of the Procedural Rules).

2. Subsequently, the members of the Chamber referred to art. 3 par. 1 of the Procedural Rules and confirmed that in accordance with art. 24 par. 1 in conjunction 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, which concerns a dispute relating to the solidarity mechanism between clubs belonging to different associations.

3. Furthermore, the DRC 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, the members referred, on the one hand, to art. 26 par. 1 and 2 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (edition 2015) and, on the other hand, to the fact that the present claim was lodged on 27 March 2015 and that the player was registered with the Respondent on 2 February 2015. In view of the aforementioned, the Chamber confirmed that the 2014 edition of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (hereinafter: Regulations) is applicable to the matter at hand as to the substance.

4. The competence of the Chamber and the applicable regulations having been established, the Chamber entered into the substance of the matter. In this respect, the Chamber started by acknowledging all the above-mentioned facts as well as the arguments and the documentation submitted by the parties. However, the Chamber emphasised 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. In particular, the Chamber recalled that in accordance with art. 6 par. 3 of Annexe 3 of the Regulations, FIFA may use, within the scope of proceedings pertaining to the application of the Regulations, any documentation or evidence generated or contained in the Transfer Matching System (TMS).

5. In this respect, the DRC noted that the Claimant claimed payment of 91.643% of 5% of the transfer compensation, plus 5% interest p.a. as of 30 days after the player’s registration with the Respondent.

6. In addition to the above, the Chamber took into account that according to the information contained in the TMS, Club F and the Respondent agreed upon a transfer compensation of EUR 2,000,000 payable by the Respondent on 15 February 2015.

7. Furthermore, the DRC noted that the Respondent failed to present its response to the claim of the Claimant, in spite of having been invited to do so. By not presenting its position to the claim, the Chamber was of the opinion that the Respondent renounced its right of defence and, thus, accepted the allegations of the Claimant.

8. Furthermore, as a consequence of the aforementioned consideration, the DRC concurred that in accordance with art. 9 par. 3 of the Procedural Rules, it shall take a decision upon the basis of the documentation on file as well as the information contained in the TMS (cf. point II./4. above).

9. Having established the above, the Chamber referred to art. 21 in combination with art. 1 of Annexe 5 of the Regulations which stipulate that, if a professional moves during the course of a contract, 5% of any compensation, not including training compensation paid to his former club, shall be deducted from the total amount of this compensation and be distributed by the new club as a solidarity contribution to the club(s) involved in the training and education of the player between the seasons of his 12th and 23rd birthday.

10. In this respect, the DRC recalled that the Football Confederation of country B confirmed that the player, born on 16 June 1986, was registered with the Claimant during the following periods of time: as from 1 July 1997 until 31 July 2008 and as from 1 December 2008 until 31 May 2009.

11. On account of the above and in accordance with art. 1 of Annexe 5 of the Regulations, the DRC considered that the Claimant is entitled to receive solidarity contribution for the period as from 1 January 1998 until 31 July 2008, i.e. for 12 months of each of the seasons of the player’s 12th until and including 21st birthday and for 7 months of the season of the player’s 22nd birthday. Furthermore, the Claimant is entitled to receive solidarity contribution for the period of 1 December 2008 until 31 May 2009, i.e. for 1 month relating to the season of the player’s 22nd birthday and for 5 months of the season of the player’s 23rd birthday. In terms of the percentage of the 5% solidarity contribution, the Chamber calculated that, on a pro rata basis, this corresponds to 90.82% of 5% as opposed to the 91.543% of the 5% of the total transfer compensation claimed by the Claimant.

12. In view of all of the above, the DRC decided to partially accept the claim of the Claimant and decided that the Respondent is liable to pay the amount of EUR 90,820 to the Claimant as solidarity contribution in relation to the transfer of the player from Club F to the Respondent.

13. Furthermore, and taking into consideration both the claim of the Claimant and art. 2 par. 1 of Annexe 5 of the Regulations, the Chamber decided that the Respondent has to pay to the Claimant interest at the rate of 5% p.a. as of 18 March 2015 on the amount of EUR 90,820.

14. Lastly, the Chamber 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 DRC relating to disputes regarding solidarity mechanism, costs in the maximum amount of CHF 25’000 are levied. It is further stipulated that the costs are to be borne in consideration of the parties’ degree of success in the proceedings and that, in accordance with Annexe A of the Procedural Rules, the costs of the proceedings are to be levied on the basis of the amount in dispute.

15. The amount in dispute to be taken into consideration in the present proceedings amounts to EUR 91,543 related to the claim of the Claimant. Therefore, the Chamber concluded that the maximum amount of costs of the proceedings corresponds to CHF 10,000 (cf. table in Annexe A).

16. As a result, considering the degree of success as well as that the Respondent never replied to the claim, the DRC determined the final costs of the current proceedings to the amount of CHF 10,000 which shall be borne by the Respondent.

17. In this respect, the Chamber took into account that the Claimant has paid an advance of costs in the amount of CHF 2,000 in accordance with art. 17 of the Procedural Rules.

18. In view of all of the above, the Chamber concluded that the amount of CHF 10,000 has to be paid by the Respondent to cover the costs of the present proceedings. Thereof the amount of CHF 8,000 has to be paid by the Respondent to FIFA and the amount of CHF 2,000 to the Claimant.

III. Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber

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

2. The Respondent, Club C, has to pay to the Claimant, within 30 days of notification of this decision, the amount of EUR 90,820 plus 5% interest p.a. as from 18 March 2015 until the date of effective payment.

3. In the event that the amount and interest due to the Claimant is not paid by the Respondent within the stated time limit, the present matter shall be submitted, upon request, to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee for consideration and a formal decision.

4. Any further claim lodged by the Claimant is rejected.

5. The final 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:

5.1 The amount of CHF 8,000 has to be paid to FIFA to the following bank account with reference to case no. xxxxxxxxxx:

UBS Zurich

Account number 366.677.01U (FIFA Players’ Status)

Clearing number 230

IBAN: CH27 0023 0230 3666 7701U

SWIFT: UBSWCHZH80A

5.2 The amount of CHF 2,000 has to be paid to the Claimant.

6. The Claimant is directed to inform the Respondent immediately and directly of the account number to which the remittances are to be made and to notify the Dispute Resolution Chamber of every payment received.

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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:

Marco Villiger

Deputy Secretary General

Enclosed: CAS directives