F.I.F.A. – Camera di Risoluzione delle Controversie (2014-2015) – indennità di formazione – ———- F.I.F.A. – Dispute Resolution Chamber (2014-2015) – training compensation – official version by www.fifa.com – Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 6 November 2014, in the following composition: Thomas Grimm (Switzerland), Deputy Chairman Theo van Seggelen (Netherlands), member Carlos González Puche (Colombia), member Theodoros Giannikos (Greece), member Mohamed Al-Saikhan (Saudi Arabia), member on the claim presented by the club, Club A, Country B as Claimant against the club, Club C, Country D as Respondent regarding training compensation in connection with the Player E

F.I.F.A. - Camera di Risoluzione delle Controversie (2014-2015) - indennità di formazione – ---------- F.I.F.A. - Dispute Resolution Chamber (2014-2015) - training compensation – official version by www.fifa.com – Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 6 November 2014, in the following composition: Thomas Grimm (Switzerland), Deputy Chairman Theo van Seggelen (Netherlands), member Carlos González Puche (Colombia), member Theodoros Giannikos (Greece), member Mohamed Al-Saikhan (Saudi Arabia), member on the claim presented by the club, Club A, Country B as Claimant against the club, Club C, Country D as Respondent regarding training compensation in connection with the Player E I. Facts of the case 1. According to the player passport issued by the Football Federation of Country B, the Player E (hereinafter: the player), born on 23 May 1997, was registered as an amateur with the following Clubs of Country B: - Club A as from 15 October 2003 until 28 September 2011; - Club F as from 29 September 2011 until 29 August 2012; - Club A as from 30 August 2012. 2. According to the International Transfer Certificate (ITC) as uploaded in the Transfer Matching System (TMS), the player was deregistered from Club A (hereinafter: the Claimant) on 30 June 2013. 3. According to a confirmation from the Football Federation of Country B, the Claimant belonged to the category I (indicative amount of EUR 90,000 per year) during the period of time the player was registered with it. 4. The football seasons in Country B during the period of time the player was registered with the Claimant started on 1 July and ended on 30 June of the following year. 5. The Football Association of Country D confirmed that the player was registered with Club C (hereinafter: the Respondent) on 4 October 2013 as a professional. 6. Equally, according to the information contained in the TMS, the Respondent belonged to the category I (indicative amount of EUR 90,000 per year) during the season when the player was registered with it, i.e. the 2013/2014 season. 8. On 17 February 2014, the Claimant contacted FIFA claiming the payment of training compensation from the Respondent, on the ground that the player had signed his first professional contract with the Respondent in August 2013. 9. The Claimant explained that it had already received an amount of EUR 259,823 from the Respondent on 12 December 2013 pertaining to training compensation. However, the Claimant deemed that it is entitled to a total amount of EUR 360,000. Therefore, the Claimant claimed the amount of EUR 100,177 plus 5% interest as of “the date when the transfer took place”. 9. In reply to the Claimant’s claim, the Respondent stated that it had paid an amount of EUR 259,835.55 to the Claimant on 12 December 2013 and that no further amount is due to the Claimant. In this respect, the Respondent referred to art. 5 par. 3 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (hereinafter: the Regulations) as well as to the jurisprudence of the DRC. In accordance with said jurisprudence, the “exception to the exception” cannot be applied retro-actively to the years of training before 1 October 2009, when the amendment to art. 5 par. 3 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations came into force. Therefore, the Respondent argued that the training compensation for the years prior to 1 October 2009 shall be based on the training and education costs of category IV clubs. 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, it took note that the present matter was submitted to FIFA on 17 February 2014. Consequently, the 2012 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 2012 and 2014 editions 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. d) of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (edition 2014), the Dispute Resolution Chamber is competent to deal with the matter at stake relating to training compensation between clubs belonging to different associations. 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, it confirmed that in accordance with art. 26 par. 1 and 2 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (editions 2012 and 2014), and considering that the player was registered with the Respondent on 4 October 2013, the 2012 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 and the applicable regulations having been established, the Chamber entered into the substance of the matter. The members of the Chamber started by acknowledging the facts of the case as well as the documentation on file. However, the DRC 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 DRC took note that the Claimant maintained that it is entitled to receive training compensation from the Respondent in the amount of EUR 360,000, indicating that the player had signed his first professional contract with the Respondent before the end of the season of his 23rd birthday. 6. Equally, the DRC took note that the Claimant explained that it had already received an amount of EUR 259,823 from the Respondent and, consequently, that it claimed the remaining amount of EUR 100,177 from the Respondent. 7. However, the Chamber noted that the Respondent rebutted the claim of the Claimant, stating, first of all, that it had already paid an amount of EUR 259,835.55 to the Claimant. 8. Equally, the DRC took due note of the Respondent’s statement that the Claimant is not entitled to a higher amount of training compensation in view of art. 5 par. 3 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations and its application according to the jurisprudence of the DRC. 9. After having carefully examined the parties’ positions, taking into consideration all the aforementioned arguments, the DRC observed that it is undisputed between the parties that the Claimant is entitled to receive training compensation from the Respondent, but that the parties disagreed on the exact amount of training compensation to which the Claimant is entitled. 10. In this respect, and hereby referring to the rules applicable to training compensation, the Chamber stated that, as established in art. 1 par. 1 of Annexe 4 in combination with art. 2 par. 1 lit. i. of Annexe 4 of the Regulations, training compensation is payable, as a general rule, for training incurred between the ages of 12 and 21 when a player is registered for the first time as a professional before the end of the season of the player’s 23rd birthday. Based on the documentation provided by the Football Federation of Country B and the Football Association of Country D, the Chamber concluded that it could indeed be established that the player had been registered as a professional for the first time with the Respondent. 11. Consequently, taking into account the above-mentioned considerations, the Chamber concurred that training compensation is, in principle, due. 12. Turning its attention to the calculation of training compensation, the Chamber referred to art. 5 par. 1 and par. 2 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations, which stipulate that as a general rule, to calculate the training compensation, it is necessary to take the costs that would have been incurred by the new club if it had trained the player itself. Furthermore, the Chamber referred to the exception contained in the first sentence of art. 5 par. 3 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations which stipulates that to ensure that training compensation for very young players is not set at unreasonably high levels, the training costs for players for the seasons between their 12th and 15th birthdays (i.e. four seasons) shall be based on the training and education costs of category 4 clubs. Equally, the Chamber referred to the second sentence of art. 5 par. 3 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations which states that the aforementioned exception shall not be applicable where the event giving rise to the right to training compensation occurs before the end of the season of the player’s 18th birthday. 13. In this context, the Chamber wished to refer to FIFA Circular no. 1190 dated 20 May 2009 by means of which the members of FIFA were, inter alia, informed about the amended art. 5 par. 3 of Annexe 4, which came into force on 1 October 2009. Said FIFA Circular indicated that art. 5 par. 3 of Annexe 4 “now stipulates that where the event giving rise to the right to training compensation occurs before the end of the season of the player's 18th birthday, the training costs for players for the seasons between their 12th and 15th birthdays (i.e. four seasons) shall no longer be based on the training and education costs of category 4 clubs, but on the category of the new club.” 14. Against this background, in particular since the aforementioned amendment of the pertinent article of Annexe 4 of the Regulations only came into force on 1 October 2009, the Chamber found that it cannot apply said amendment to the years of training and education of the player prior to the coming into force of the amended art. 5 par. 3 of Annexe 4, i.e. prior to 1 October 2009. In other words, the Chamber concurred that the said provision could not be applied retro-actively and, consequently, decided that the second sentence of art. 5 par. 3 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations does not apply to the season 2008/2009, as well as the season 2009/2010 until 1 October 2009, during which the player was registered with the Claimant. 15. Having established the above, the Chamber recalled that the player was born on 23 May 1997 and was registered with the Claimant as from 15 October 2003 until 28 September 2011 and as from 30 August 2012 until 30 June 2013. 16. Equally, the DRC recalled that the Football Association of Country D confirmed that the player was registered with the Respondent on 4 October 2013 as a professional. 17. On account of the above and in accordance with art. 20 in combination with Annexe 4 of the Regulations, the DRC considered that the Claimant is, thus, entitled to receive training compensation for the period as from 1 July 2008 until 28 September 2011, i.e. for the full seasons of 2008/2009 until and including the 2010/2011 season (seasons of the player’s 12th to 14th birthday), and 3 months of the 2011/2012 season (season of the player’s 15th birthday), as well as for the period as from 30 August 2012 until 30 June 2013, i.e. for 10 months of the 2012/2013 season (season of the player’s 16th birthday). 18. In view of all of the above, the DRC held that, in principle, the Respondent is liable to pay the amount of EUR 267,500 to the Claimant as training compensation in relation to the registration of the player with the Respondent. Said amount is calculated as follows: i) EUR 10,000 for the 2008/2009 season, ii) EUR 70,000 for the 2009/2010 season, iii) EUR 90,000 for the 2010/2011 season, iv) EUR 22,500 for the 2011/2012 season, and v) EUR 75,000 for the 2012/2013 season. 19. In this respect, the DRC recalled that the Claimant had already received the amount of EUR 259,823 from the Respondent. 20. As a consequence, the DRC decided to partially accept the claim of the Claimant and held that the Respondent is liable to pay the remaining amount of EUR 7,677 to the Claimant as training compensation in relation to the registration of the player with the Respondent. 21. Moreover, taking into account the Claimant’s claim, the DRC decided that the Respondent has to pay interest of 5% p.a. over the amount payable as training compensation as from 4 November 2013 until the date of effective payment. 22. 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 training compensation, 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. 23. In respect of the above, the Chamber held that the amount to be taken into consideration in the present proceedings is EUR 100,177 related to the claim of the Claimant. Consequently, the Chamber concluded that the maximum amount of costs of the proceedings corresponds to CHF 15,000 (cf. table in Annexe A). 24. As a result, and taking into account the particularities of the present matter as well as the degree of success, the Chamber determined the costs of the current proceedings to the amount of CHF 10,000, of which CHF 8,000 shall be borne by the Claimant and CHF 2,000 by the Respondent. 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 as from the date of notification of this decision, the amount of EUR 7,677 plus 5% interest p.a. on said amount as of 4 November 2013 until the date of effective payment. 3. In the event that the aforementioned sum plus interest is not paid within the stated time limit, the present matter shall be submitted, upon request, to FIFA’s 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 within 30 days as from the date of notification of the present decision, as follows: 5.1. The amount of CHF 2,000 has to be paid by the Respondent. 5.2. The amount of CHF 8,000 has to be paid by the Claimant. Given that the Claimant has already paid the amount of CHF 3,000 as advance of costs at the start of the present proceedings, the additional amount of CHF 5,000 has to be paid by the Claimant to FIFA. 5.3. The above-mentioned amounts have to be paid to FIFA to the following bank account: UBS Zurich Account number 366.677.01U (FIFA Players’ Status) Clearing number 230 IBAN: CH27 0023 0230 3666 7701U SWIFT: UBSWCHZH80A. 6. The Claimant is directed to inform the Respondent immediately and directly of the account number to which the remittance under point 2. above is 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 www.tas-cas.org For the Dispute Resolution Chamber: Jérôme Valcke Secretary General Enclosed: CAS directives