F.I.F.A. – Dispute Resolution Chamber / Camera di Risoluzione delle Controversie – solidarity contribution/ contributo di solidarietà – (2020-2021) – fifa.com – atto non ufficiale – Decision 15 February 2021
Decision of the
Single Judge of the sub-committee of
The Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed on 15 February 2021
regarding training compensation for the player FRANCIS ODINAKA UZOHO
BY:
Alexandra Gómez Bruinewoud (Uruguay), Single Judge of the sub-committee of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
CLAIMANT:
CAMPOS FOOTBALL CLUB, Nigeria
RESPONDENT:
RC DEPORTIVO DE LA CORUÑA, Spain
I. FACTS OF THE CASE
Player: Francis Odinaka Uzoho
Date of birth: 28 October 1998
Player passport: issued by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on 7 August 2020
Season
Birthday
Club
Registration
Status
2010
12h
Campos FC
01.01.2010-31.12.2010
Amateur
2011
13th
Campos FC
01.01.2011-31.12.2011
Amateur
2012
14th
Dynamo Warriors FC
01.01.2012-31.12.2012
Amateur
2013
15th
Dynamo Warriors FC
01.01.2013-31.12.2013
Amateur
2014
16th
Campos FC
01.01.2014-31.12.2014
Amateur
2015
17th
Campos FC
01.01.2015-31.12.2015
Amateur
2016
18th
Dynamo Warriors FC
01.01.2016-31.12.2016
Amateur
Sporting season: 1 January to 31 December (Nigeria)
Date of transfer: 12 January 2017, the player was registered as a professional with the Respondent.
Claimant club: Campos Football Club (Nigeria)
Respondent club: RC Deportivo de la Coruña (Spain) – training category I (UEFA indicative amount of EUR 90,000 per year)
Claim and Response:
1. On 9 September 2020, the Claimant requested EUR 154,350 as training compensation for the first registration of the player as a professional with the Respondent, plus 5% interests p.a.
2. The claim of the Claimant is based on the following calculation:
12 to 13 years – category 4 - EUR 10,000 – EUR 20,000
16 to 17 years – category 2 – EUR 60,000 – EUR 120,000
3. The Claimant alleged having contacted in vain the Respondent in May 2018 requesting the payment of the training compensation due.
4. In addition, the Claimant maintained that the player passport of the player was only “recently issued due to a dispute between the clubs who trained the player in Nigeria. The player was taken away by a third-party club who then transferred him to Aspire Senegal/Qatar without [its] permission.”
5. The Claimant added that the claim could have not been submitted earlier “because the issue was only resolved a few days prior (..).”
6. In continuation, the Claimant explained having already lodged a claim with FIFA on 10 August 2020, i.e. “before the two-year deadline” but that such claim had been closed by the FIFA administration on the basis of prescription.
7. On 25 October 2020, the FIFA administration informed the Claimant again that because the transfer of the player had occurred on 12 January 2017, its claim was time barred.
8. In response thereto, the Claimant reiterated that it could have not lodged a claim before because the player passport of the player had only been issued recently and requested for the proceedings to be continued. The Claimant added that the NFF had confirmed that the delay had been caused by an internal issue and that it should “not have to suffer loss due to a situation that was beyond its control.”
9. The Respondent rejected the claim of the Claimant arguing that since 2018 it had received “several claims from suspicious emails addresses regarding the training compensation” of the player.
10. In addition, the Respondent argued that there was no “physical or documental evidence regarding the registration of the player”.
11. Finally, the Respondent deemed that there was “a total legal and evidence uncertainty regarding the training compensation claim (..) and that no amount is due.”
II. LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS
Applicable law: Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP): 2016 edition.
Rules Governing the Procedures of the Players’ Status Committee and the Dispute Resolution Chamber (Procedural Rules): 2021 edition.
Jurisdiction: Yes, uncontested
Admissible: No Decision:
1. The Claimant is requesting the payment of training compensation on the basis of the first registration of the player with the Respondent on 12 January 2017.
2. In accordance with art. 3 par. 1 and 2 of Annexe 4 of the RSTP, training compensation is to be paid 30 days following the registration of the player with the new association.
3. Any training compensation due as a result of the player being registered as a professional for the first time with the Respondent on 12 January 2017 was to be paid by the latter to his training club(s) on 11 February 2017.
4. As per art. 25 par. 5 of the RSTP, the Dispute Resolution Chamber shall not hear any case subject to the RSTP if more than two years have elapsed since the event giving rise to the dispute.
5. In casu, the event giving rise to the dispute is the non-payment by the Respondent on 11 February 2017 of the training compensation allegedly due to the Claimant.
6. The claim of the Claimant was lodged in 2020, i.e. more than two years after 11 February 2017.
7. The allegation of the Claimant that it would have only received the player passport of the player in August 2020 and that, as a result, prior to that date, it had not been in the position to lodge a claim against the Respondent does not have an impact on the prescription of the claim. The Claimant could have lodged the claim with FIFA without being in possession of the player passport of the player and interrupt the prescription but decided not to do so.
8. The claim of the Claimant is time-barred as it was lodged more than 2 years after the event giving raise to the dispute occurred.
9. As a result, the claim of the Claimant is inadmissible.
10. No procedural are levied in accordance with art. 18 of the Procedural Rules.
III. DECISION
1. The claim of the Claimant, Campos Football Club, is inadmissible.
2. No procedural costs are payable (cf. arts. 17 par. 1 and 18 par. 1 of the Rules Governing the Procedure of the Players’ Status Committee and Dispute Resolution Chamber).
For the Single Judge of the sub-committee of the Dispute Resolution Chamber:
Emilio García Silvero
Chief Legal & Compliance Officer
NOTE RELATED TO THE APPEAL PROCEDURE:
Pursuant to article 58 paragraph 1 of the FIFA Statutes, this decision may be appealed before the Court of Arbitration for Sport within 21 days of notification.
NOTE RELATED TO 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).
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