F.I.F.A. – Dispute Resolution Chamber / Camera di Risoluzione delle Controversie – labour disputes / controversie di lavoro (2018-2019) – fifa.com – atto non ufficiale – Decision 14 September 2018

Decision of the

Dispute Resolution Chamber

passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 14 September 2018,

in the following composition:

Geoff Thompson (England), Chairman

Jérôme Perlemuter (France), member

Elvis Chetty (Seychelles), member

Stefano Sartori (Italy), member

Takuya Yamazaki (Japan), 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 21 January 2017, the player of Country B, Player A (hereinafter: the Claimant) and the club of Country D, Club C (hereinafter: the Respondent), signed an employment contract (hereinafter: the contract) valid as from 21 January 2017 until 15 June 2017.

2. According to art. 5 of the contract, the Claimant was entitled, inter alia, to receive from the Respondent the total amount of USD 50,000 for half of the 2016/2017 sporting season, to be paid as follows:

a. USD 10,000 as “a down payment to be paid upon successfully passing the medical examination and the issuance of the player’s card by the Football Federation of Country D”;

b. USD 40,000 “divided over five months at USD 8,000 to be paid at the end of each month as from the end of February 2017 until the end of the contract”.

3. By means of a letter dated 6 July 2017, the Claimant put the Respondent in default of the payment of USD 32,000, corresponding to the outstanding salaries allegedly owed to him in accordance with the contract.

4. On 27 September 2017, the Claimant lodged a claim against the Respondent in front of FIFA, requesting to be awarded USD 32,000, corresponding to four monthly salaries of USD 8,000 each, as from March 2017 until June 2017.

5. The Claimant further asked that the procedural costs be imposed on the Respondent.

6. Despite having been invited by FIFA to provide its comments on the present matter, the Respondent did not answer to the Claimant’s claim.

II. Considerations of the Dispute Resolution Chamber

1. First of all, the Dispute Resolution Chamber (hereinafter also referred to as Chamber or DRC) analysed whether it was competent to deal with the matter at hand. In this respect, it took note that the present matter was submitted to FIFA on 27 September 2017. Consequently, the Rules Governing the Procedures of the Players’ Status Committee and the Dispute Resolution Chamber (2017 edition; hereinafter: Procedural Rules) are applicable to the matter at hand (cf. art. 21 of the Procedural Rules).

2. Subsequently, the members of the DRC 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. b of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (2018 edition) 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 DRC analysed which regulations should be applicable as to the substance of the matter. In this respect, it confirmed that in accordance with art. 26 par. 1 and par. 2 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (2016 and 2018 editions), and considering that the present claim was lodged on 27 September 2017, the 2016 edition of said regulations (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 on 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. Having said this, the DRC acknowledged that the Claimant and the Respondent signed an employment contract valid as from 21 January 2017 until 15 June 2017, in accordance with which the Claimant was entitled to receive from the Respondent, inter alia, the following amounts:

a. USD 10,000 as a “down payment to be paid upon successfully passing the medical examination and the issuance of the player’s card by the Football Federation of Country D”;

b. USD 40,000 “divided over five months at USD 8,000 to be paid at the end of each month as from the end of February 2017 until the end of the contract”.

6. The Dispute Resolution Chamber further acknowledged that, according to the Claimant, the Respondent had failed to pay his remuneration in the total amount of USD 32,000, corresponding to the monthly salaries of March, April, May and June all 2017, in the amount of USD 8,000 each. The DRC further noted that the Claimant put the Respondent in default of payment of the aforementioned amount on 6 July 2017.

7. Furthermore, the Chamber took note that the Respondent, for its part, failed to present its response to the claim of the Claimant, in spite of having been invited to do so. Consequently, the DRC was of the opinion that the Respondent renounced its right of defence and, thus, accepted the allegations of the Claimant.

8. Moreover, and as a consequence of the aforementioned consideration, the Chamber established that in accordance with art. 9 par. 3 of the Procedural Rules it shall take a decision upon the basis of the documents already on file on file; in other words, upon the statements and documents presented by the Claimant.

9. Having said that, the Chamber highlighted that it remained uncontested that the Respondent had not fulfilled its financial obligations set forth in the employment contract signed between the parties and that it failed to pay to the Claimant the amount of USD 32,000 in accordance with said contract.

10. Moreover, and taking into account the documentation presented by the Claimant in support of his petition, the DRC concluded that the Claimant had substantiated his claim pertaining to outstanding remuneration with sufficient documentary evidence.

11. On account of the above considerations and the documentation on file, the DRC decided that, in accordance with the general legal principle of “pacta sunt servanda”, the Respondent is liable to pay the amount of USD 32,000 to the Claimant.

12. Finally, the Dispute Resolution Chamber held that the Claimant’s claim for legal costs is rejected in accordance with art. 18 par. 4 of the Procedural Rules and the Chamber’s respective longstanding jurisprudence.

13. In conclusion, for all the above reasons, the Chamber decided to partially accept the Claimant’s claim and to reject any further claim lodged by the Claimant.

III. Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber

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

2. The Respondent, Club C, has to pay to the Claimant, within 30 days as from the date of notification of this decision, outstanding remuneration in the amount of USD 32,000.

3. In the event that the amount due to the Claimant in accordance with the above-mentioned number 2. is not paid by the Respondent within the stated time limit, interest at the rate of 5% p.a. will fall due as of expiry of the aforementioned time limit and 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 Claimant is directed to inform the Respondent immediately and directly of the account number to which the remittance is 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 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

e-mail: info@tas-cas.org

For the Dispute Resolution Chamber:

Omar Ongaro

Football Regulatory Director

Encl: CAS directives