F.I.F.A. – Dispute Resolution Chamber / Camera di Risoluzione delle Controversie – labour disputes / controversie di lavoro (2016-2017) – fifa.com – atto non ufficiale – Decision 15 July 2016

Decision of the

Dispute Resolution Chamber

passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 15 July 2016,

in the following composition:

Thomas Grimm (Switzerland), Deputy Chairman

Theo van Seggelen (Netherlands), member

Takuya Yamazaki (Japan), member

Mario Gallavotti (Italy), member

Mohamed Al Saikhan (Saudi Arabia), member

on the claim presented by the player,

Player A, Country B

as Claimant

against the club,

Club C, Country D

as Respondent

regarding an employment-related dispute

arisen between the parties

I. Facts of the case

1. On 2 February 2015, the Player of Country B, Player A (hereinafter; the Claimant or the player) and the Club of Country D, Club C (hereinafter; the Respondent or the club) concluded an employment contract valid as of the date of its signature until 31 May 2015.

2. According to the contract, the Claimant was entitled to receive from the Respondent the total amount of USD 160,000 payable as follows:

a. USD 40,000 on 15 February 2015;

b. USD 40,000 on 31 March 2015;

c. USD 40,000 on 31 April 2015 and;

d. USD 40,000 on 29 May 2015.

3. Moreover, clause 3 of the employment contract reads, inter alia, as follows: “There is no unpredicted extra payments for any bonus or premium related to success/condition described hereby contract (sic)”

4. On 18 January 2016, the Claimant lodged a claim against the Respondent in front of FIFA requesting outstanding remuneration in the amount of USD 132,000. According to the Claimant, the Respondent only made one payment of USD 28,000 as part of the amount due on 15 February 2015.

5. In its reply, the Respondent rejected the claim in full. In particular, the Respondent argued that it had complied with all its obligations towards the player. In this respect, the Respondent enclosed the following payment receipts:

Date of payment Amount Payment method

3 February 2015

USD 10,000

Cash

13 February 2015

18,750

Bank transfer

6 March 2015

USD 15,000

Bank transfer

16 March 2015

7,000

Bank transfer

1 April 2015

10,000

Bank transfer

21 April 2015

USD 51,250

Cash

27 May 2015

USD 82,600

Cash

6. In his replica, the Claimant stated that “The documents enclosed by [the club] refer to the payment of several bonuses regarding the victories by the team in the championship, and, as a consequence, due by the Respondent to the Claimant, as a team’s player”.

7. In its rejoinder, the Respondent argued that the Claimant had not presented any evidence to substantiate his allegations and stressed that all the payments made were related to the amounts provided for in the contract.

II. Considerations of the Dispute Resolution Chamber

1. First, the Dispute Resolution Chamber (hereinafter also referred to as the DRC or the Chamber) analysed whether it was competent to deal with the matter at stake. In this respect, it took note that the present matter was submitted to FIFA on 18 January 2016. 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 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 combination with art. 22 lit. b) of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (edition 2016), the Dispute Resolution Chamber is competent to deal with the matter at stake, which concerns an employment-related dispute with an international dimension between a Player of Country B and a Club of Country D.

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, the Chamber confirmed that in accordance with art. 26 par. 1 and 2 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (edition 2016), and considering that the claim was lodged on 18 January 2016, the 2015 edition of the aforementioned regulations (hereinafter; the 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, and entering into the substance of the matter, the Chamber started by acknowledging the above-mentioned facts as well as the documentation contained in the file. 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. First of all, the members of the DRC acknowledged that on 2 February 2015, the parties entered into an employment contract valid until 31 May 2015 whereby it was agreed that the Claimant was entitled to the total amount of USD 160,000 payable as follows:

a. USD 40,000 on 15 February 2015;

b. USD 40,000 on 31 March 2015;

c. USD 40,000 on 31 April 2015 and;

d. USD 40,000 on 29 May 2015.

6. Having established the above, the members of the Chamber focused their attention on the claim of the Claimant who argues that the Respondent has an outstanding amount towards him of USD 132,000 as, according to the Claimant, the Respondent only made one payment of USD 28,000 as part of the amount due on 15 February 2015.

7. The Chamber further noted that, conversely, the Respondent, while enclosing several payment receipts, rejected the Claimant’s claim and argued that it did not have any pending debts with the Claimant.

8. Furthermore, the Chamber duly noted that the Claimant challenged the nature of the payments contained in the receipts presented by the Respondent as these “refer to the payment of several bonuses regarding the victories by the team in the championship, and, as a consequence, due by the Respondent to the Claimant, as a team’s player”.

9. With the aforementioned considerations in mind, the Chamber wished to stress, first and foremost, that the Claimant did not dispute, at any moment, having received the amounts contained in the payment receipts presented by the Respondent but merely argued that they were not salary payments but rather “bonuses regarding the victories by the team in the championship”.

10. In this context, the members of the Chamber referred to art. 12 par. 3 of the Procedural Rules which stipulates that any party claiming a right on the basis of an alleged fact shall carry the burden of proof and emphasised that the Claimant failed to prove that the payments made by the Respondent were “bonuses regarding the victories by the team in the championship”.

11. Along these lines, the members of the Chamber emphasised that the employment contract concluded by the parties does not contain any provision which foresees the payment of any kind of bonuses. On the contrary, the contract explicitly provides that “There is no unpredicted extra payments for any bonus or premium related to success/condition described hereby contract”.

12. In view of the foregoing, the Chamber had no other alternative than to conclude that the amounts paid to the Claimant were payments related to his salaries.

13. With the above in mind, the Chamber turned its attention to the payment receipts presented by the Respondent and observed that they sum up the amount of USD 172,000.

14. As a consequence of all the foregoing considerations, the Chamber concluded that the claim of the Claimant should be rejected.

III. Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber

1. The claim of the Claimant, Player A, is rejected.

*****

Note relating to the motivated decision (legal remedy):

According to article 58 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

Encl. CAS directives