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 17 December 2015

Decision of the

Dispute Resolution Chamber

passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 17 December 2015,

Thomas Grimm (Switzerland), Deputy Chairman

Mario Gallavotti (Italy), member

Joaquim Evangelista (Portugal), member

on the claim presented by the club,

Club P, from country A

as Claimant

against the club,

Club S, from country B

as Respondent

regarding solidarity contribution in connection with the transfer

of the player T

I. Facts of the case

1. According to the player passport issued by the Football Federation of country A (hereinafter: Football Federation of country A), the player T, of country A (hereinafter: player), born on 27 February 1985, was registered with Club P (hereinafter: Claimant) as follows:

- as from 1 January 1997 until 24 January 2006;

- as from 1 January 2008 until 7 January 2008.

2. According to the Football Federation of country A, the football seasons in country A, 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 B confirmed that the player was registered with its affiliated club, Club S, on 5 August 2013.

4. According to the Claimant, the Club X, from country A concluded a transfer agreement with Club S (hereinafter: Respondent) for the definitive transfer of the player to the Respondent, in July 2013.

5. According to the information and documentation entered by the relevant clubs in the Transfer Matching System (hereinafter: TMS), the Respondent and the Club X agreed on a transfer compensation in the amount of EUR 6,000,000 payable by the Respondent as follows:

- EUR 3,000,000 on 1 August 2013;

- EUR 3,000,000 on 18 August 2014.

6. On 4 February 2014, 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 3,54% of the transfer compensation, corresponding to EUR 212,400, plus 5% interest p.a. as of 30 days after the player’s registration with the Respondent. The Claimant additionally requested to order the Respondent to bear the costs of the proceedings.

7. In its reply to the claim, the Respondent stated that the calculation of the solidarity contribution submitted by the Claimant “is not very accurate” and that according to their calculation the solidarity contribution amounts to EUR 210,000.

8. In its replica, the Claimant upheld its position.

9. In its duplica, the Respondent pointed out that the parties could not find an amicable settlement in the matter.

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 4 February 2014. Consequently, the Rules governing the procedures of the Players’ Status Committee and the Dispute Resolution Chamber (edition 2012; 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 and par. 2 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 4 February 2014 and that the player was registered with the Respondent on 5 August 2013. In view of the aforementioned, the Chamber confirmed that the 2012 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.

5. In this respect, the DRC noted that the Claimant claimed payment of the amount of EUR 212,400 as solidarity contribution from the Respondent, corresponding to 3,54% of the total transfer compensation.

6. In addition to the above, and referring to art. 6 par. 3 of Annexe 3 of the Regulations, the Chamber took into account that according to the information contained in the TMS, Club X and the Respondent agreed upon a transfer compensation of EUR 6,000,000 payable by the Respondent in two instalments of EUR 3,000,000 each on 1 August 2013 and 18 August 2014.

7. Furthermore, the DRC noted that the Respondent, for its part, has not contested the Claimant’s claim that it is entitled to receive a solidarity contribution payment from the Respondent in relation to the transfer of the aforementioned transfer, but held that the Claimant’s calculation “is not very accurate”, since its own calculation resulted in the amount of EUR 210,000.

8. 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.

9. In this respect, the DRC recalled that the CBF confirmed that the player, born on 27 February 1985, was registered with the Claimant during the following periods of time: as from 1 January 1997 until 24 January 2006 and as from 1 January 2008 until 7 January 2008.

10. On account of the above and in accordance with art. 1 of Annexe 5 of the Regulations, the DRC considered that the Claimant is, thus, entitled to receive solidarity contribution for the period as from 1 January 1997 until 24 January 2006, i.e. for 12 months of each of the seasons of the player’s 12th until and including 20th birthday and for 1 month of the season of the player’s 21st birthday. During the season of the player’s 23rd birthday he was registered with the Claimant for 7 days only, which leads to the conclusion that no month can be granted to the Claimant for said season. In terms of the percentage of the 5% solidarity contribution, the Chamber calculated that, on a pro rata basis, this corresponds to 70.77% of 5% as opposed to the 3,54% of the total transfer compensation claimed by the Claimant.

11. 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 212,310 to the Claimant as solidarity contribution in relation to the transfer of the player from Club X to the Respondent.

12. Furthermore, and taking into consideration both the claim of the Claimant as well as art. 2 par. 1 of Annexe 5 of the Regulations, the Chamber decided that the Respondent has to pay to the Claimant, in conformity with the longstanding practice of the DRC, interest at rate of 5% p.a. as follows:

- 5% p.a. as of 1 September 2013 on the amount of EUR 106,155;

- 5% p.a. as of 18 September 2014 on the amount of EUR 106,155.

13. In continuation, 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 Dispute Resolution Chamber relating to disputes regarding solidarity mechanism costs in the maximum amount of CHF 25,000 are levied. The costs are to be borne in consideration of the parties’ degree of success in the proceedings.

14. In this respect, the Chamber reiterated that the claim of the Claimant is partially accepted and established that the Respondent has to bear the costs of the current proceedings in front of FIFA.

15. 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.

16. The amount in dispute to be taken into consideration in the present proceedings amounts to EUR 212,400 related to the claim of the Claimant. Therefore, the Chamber concluded that the maximum amount of costs of the proceedings corresponds to CHF 25,000 (cf. table in Annexe A).

17. Considering that the case at hand was adjudicated by the Chamber, that the present case did not show particular factual difficulty and that it did not involve specific legal complexity, the Chamber determined the final amount of costs of the current proceedings to the amount of CHF 22,000.

18. In view of all of the above, the Chamber concluded that the amount of CHF 22,000 has to be paid by the Respondent to cover the costs of the present proceedings.

III. Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber

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

2. The Respondent, Club S, has to pay to the Claimant, within 30 days of notification of this decision, the amount of EUR 212,310 plus 5% interest p.a. until the date of effective payment as follows:

a. 5% p.a. as of 1 September 2013 on the amount of EUR 106,155;

b. 5% p.a. as of 18 September 2014 on the amount of EUR 106,155.

3. In the event that the amount 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 amount of costs of the proceedings in the amount of CHF 22,000 are to be paid by the Respondent within 30 days as from the date of notification of the present decision as follows:

a. The amount of CHF 17,014 has to be paid to FIFA to the following bank account with reference to case no.:

UBS Zurich

Account number 366.677.01U (FIFA Players’ Status)

Clearing number 230

IBAN: CH27 0023 0230 3666 7701U

SWIFT: UBSWCHZH80A

b. The amount of CHF 4,986 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 under points 2. and 5.b. above are 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

Enclosed: CAS directives