F.I.F.A. – Dispute Resolution Chamber / Camera di Risoluzione delle Controversie – labour disputes / controversie di lavoro (2020-2021) – fifa.com – atto non ufficiale – Decision 3 July 2020

Decision of the

DRC Judge

passed on 3 July 2020,

regarding an employment-related dispute concerning the player Firas Mohamed Al-Khatib

BY:

Philippe Diallo (France), DRC Judge

CLAIMANT:

Firas Mohamed Al-Khatib, Syria

Represented by Mr Nader Jalal Mohamed Al-Awadhi

RESPONDENT:

Al Salmiya, Kuwait

Represented by Mr Habib Grami

I. FACTS OF THE CASE

1. On 28 May 2018, the Syrian player, Firas Mohamed Al-Khatib, (hereinafter: the Claimant or player), and the Kuwaiti club, Al Salmiya, (hereinafter: the Respondent or club) concluded an employment contract valid as from 1 August 2018 until 30 June 2020 (hereinafter: the contract).

2. On 19 September 2019, the parties signed a “Dissolution Agreement” (hereinafter: the termination agreement), stipulating that the Claimant is entitled to a compensation of Kuwaiti Dinars (KD) 157,000, payable in five instalments.

3. According to the termination agreement, the Respondent undertook to pay to the Claimant the amount of KD 157,000, as follows:

- “First Instalment: KD 40,000 on 26/09/2019;

- Second Instalment: KD 30,000 on 01/01/2020;

- Third Instalment: KD 30,000 on 01/04/2020;

- Fourth Instalment: KD 30,000 on 01/06/2020;

- Fifth Instalment: KD 30,000 on 01/08/2020.”

4. On 8 February 2020, the Claimant put the Respondent in default requesting the amount of KD 157,000 and granted to the club a ten days’ deadline to remedy the default.

5. On 2 March 2020, the Claimant lodged a claim against the Respondent in front of FIFA for outstanding remuneration, claiming the following:

i. “The Respondent has to pay the Claimant outstanding compensation of KD 157,000.00, which is equivalent to USD 513,073.54 according to Art. 3 of the dissolution agreement, plus amount of KD 7,850.00, which is equivalent to USD 25,621.76 as interest of 5%;

ii. A ban on registering new players, either nationally or internationally, for two registration periods, following the notification of the FIFA decision, shall be imposed on the Respondent;

iii. The obligation of the respondent to pay a total amount of CHF 5,000 for The Advance of costs paid by the Claimant.”

6. Despite having invited to do so, no correspondence has been received from the club, Al Salmiya, in response to the claim.

II. CONSIDERATIONS OF THE DRC JUDGE

1. First of all, the DRC judge analysed whether he was competent to deal with the matter at stake. In this respect, the DRC judge took note that the present matter was submitted to FIFA on 2 March 2020 and decided on 3 July 2020. Thus, the June 2020 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.

2. Subsequently, the DRC judge referred to art. 3 par. 1 and 2 of the Procedural Rules and confirmed that, in accordance with art. 24 par. 1 and 2 in combination with art. 22 lit. b) of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, the DRC judge is competent to deal with the matter at stake, which concerns an employment–related dispute with an international dimension.

3. Furthermore, the DRC judge 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 DRC judge confirmed that, in accordance with art. 26 par. 1 and par. 2 of the said Regulations and considering that the present claim was lodged in front of FIFA on 2 March 2020, the March 2020 edition of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (hereinafter: the Regulations) is applicable to the matter at hand as to the substance.

4. The competence of the DRC judge and the applicable regulations having been established, the DRC judge entered into the substance of the matter. In this respect, the DRC judge started by acknowledging all the above-mentioned facts as well as the arguments and the documentation submitted by the parties. However, the DRC judge emphasised that in the following considerations he will refer only to the facts, arguments and documentary evidence, which he considered pertinent for the assessment of the matter at hand.

5. In this respect, the DRC judge acknowledged that, on 28 May 2018, the Claimant and the Respondent concluded an employment contract valid as from 1 August 2018 until 30 June 2020.

6. Moreover, the DRC judge the DRC judge acknowledged that, on 19 September 2019, the Claimant and the Respondent signed the termination agreement, according to which the Claimant was entitled to receive the amount of KD 157,000 in five instalments due from September 2019 to August 2020, four of which are considered outstanding as of 2 June 2020.

7. Furthermore, the DRC judge took note that, on 8 February 2020, having the Respondent not fulfilled its financial obligation towards the Claimant, the latter put the Respondent in default of payment of KD 157,000, and granted it 10 days to remedy the default.

8. Having recalled the above, the DRC judge observed that, the Claimant, in his claim lodged on 2 March 2020, claimed outstanding remuneration in the amount of KD 157,000, corresponding to the total amount agreed by the parties when the termination agreement was concluded.

9. In continuation, the DRC judge took note that despite having been invited to do so, the Respondent, for its part, failed to present its response to the claim of the Claimant. By not presenting its position to the claim, the DRC judge was of the opinion that the Respondent renounced its right of defence and, thus, accepted the allegations of the Claimant.

10. Furthermore, as a consequence of the aforementioned consideration, the DRC judge concurred that in accordance with art. 9 par. 3 of the Procedural Rules, he shall take a decision upon the basis of the documentation already on file, in other words, upon the statements and documents presented by the Claimant.

11. In light of the above, the DRC judge highlighted that the Respondent must fulfill its obligations as per the termination agreement in accordance with the general legal principle of “pacta sunt servanda”. Consequently, the DRC judge decided that the Respondent is liable to pay to the Claimant the remuneration that was outstanding at the time of the claim was lodged, i.e. the amount of KD 130,000, corresponding to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th instalment, as the last instalment of KD 30,000 will become payable as of 1 August 2020.

12. In addition, taking into consideration the claim lodged by the Claimant, as well as the constant practice of the DRC, the DRC judge decided to award the latter 5% interest p.a. on the above mentioned amount of KD 130,000 as follows:

a. Over the amount of KD 40,000 as from 27 September 2019 until the date of effective payment;

b. Over the amount of KD 30,000 as from 2 January 2020 until the date of effective payment;

c. Over the amount of KD 30,000 as from 2 April 2020 until the date of effective payment;

d. Over the amount of KD 30,000 as from 2 June 2020 until the date of effective payment.

13. Furthermore, taking into account the consideration under number II./3. above, the DRC judge referred to par. 1 and 2 of art. 24bis of the Regulations, which stipulate that, with its decision, the pertinent FIFA deciding body shall also rule on the consequences deriving from the failure of the concerned party to pay the relevant amount of outstanding remuneration and/or compensation in due time.

14. In this regard, the DRC judge pointed out that, against clubs, the consequence of the failure to pay the relevant amounts in due time shall consist of a ban from registering any new players, either nationally or internationally, up until the due amounts are paid and for the maximum duration of three entire and consecutive registration periods.

15. Therefore, bearing in mind the above, the DRC judge decided that, in the event that the Respondent does not pay the amount due to the Claimant within 45 days as from the moment in which the Claimant, following the notification of the present decision, communicates the relevant bank details to the Respondent, a ban from registering any new players, either nationally or internationally, for the maximum duration of three entire and consecutive registration periods shall become effective on the Respondent in accordance with art. 24bis par. 2 and 4 of the Regulations.

16. Finally, the DRC judge recalled that the above-mentioned ban will be lifted immediately and prior to its complete serving upon payment of the due amount, in accordance with art. 24bis par. 3 of the Regulations.

17. The DRC judge concluded his deliberations in the present matter by establishing that the Claimant’s claim is partially accepted and any further claim of the Claimant is rejected.

III. DECISION OF THE DRC JUDGE

1. The claim of the Claimant, Firas Mohamed Al-Khatib, is partially accepted.

2. The Respondent, Al Salmiya, has to pay to the Claimant, the following amount:

- KD 130,000 as outstanding remuneration, plus 5% interest p.a. calculated as follows:

a. Over the amount of KD 40,000 as from 27 September 2019 until the date of effective payment;

b. Over the amount of KD 30,000 as from 2 January 2020 until the date of effective payment;

c. Over the amount of KD 30,000 as from 2 April 2020 until the date of effective payment;

d. Over the amount of KD 30,000 as from 2 June 2020 until the date of effective payment.

3. Any further claim of the Claimant is rejected.

4. The Claimant is directed to immediately and directly inform the Respondent of the relevant bank account to which the Respondent must pay the due amount.

5. The Respondent shall provide evidence of payment of the due amount in accordance with this decision to psdfifa@fifa.org, duly translated, if applicable, into one of the official FIFA languages (English, French, German, Spanish).

6. In the event that the amount due, plus interest as established above is not paid by the Respondent within 45 days, as from the notification by the Claimant of the relevant bank details to the Respondent, the following consequences shall arise:

 1.

The Respondent shall be banned from registering any new players, either nationally or internationally, up until the due amount is paid and for the maximum duration of three entire and consecutive registration periods. The aforementioned ban mentioned will be lifted immediately and prior to its complete serving, once the due amount is paid.

(cf. art. 24bis of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players). 2.

In the event that the payable amount as per in this decision is still not paid by the end of the ban of three entire and consecutive registration periods, the present matter shall be submitted, upon request, to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.

For the Dispute Resolution Chamber:

Emilio García Silvero

Chief Legal & Compliance Officer

NOTE RELATED TO THE APPEAL PROCEDURE:

According to article 58 par. 1 of the FIFA Statutes, this decision may be appealed against before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 21 days of receipt of the notification of this decision.

NOTE RELATED TO THE 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).

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Fédération Internationale de Football Association

FIFA-Strasse 20 P.O. Box 8044 Zurich Switzerland

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