F.I.F.A. – Dispute Resolution Chamber / Camera di Risoluzione delle Controversie – solidarity contribution / contributo di solidarietà – (2017-2018) – fifa.com – atto non ufficiale – Decision 14 August 2018

Decision of the

Single Judge of the sub-committee of the Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC)

passed on 14 August 2018,

by Takuya Yamazaki (Japan),

Single Judge of the sub-committee of the DRC,

on the claim presented by the club,

Club A, from country A

as Claimant

against the club,

Club B, from country B

as Respondent

regarding solidarity contribution in connection with the transfer

of the player X

I. Facts of the case

1. According to the player passport issued by the Football Association of country A, the player, Player X (hereinafter: the player), born on 14 May 1997, was registered with Club A, from country A (hereinafter: the Claimant), as from 1 August 2008 until 31 July 2014.

2. The football seasons in in country A during the period of time the player was registered with the Claimant started in August and ended in July.

3. According to the information contained in the Transfer Matching System (TMS), on 17 February 2016, the Club C, from country A (hereinafter: Club C) and the Club B, from country B (hereinafter: the Respondent), signed an agreement over the transfer of the player to the Respondent for a transfer compensation of USD 150,000.

4. According to the TMS, the player was registered with the Respondent on 18 March 2016.

5. On 30 October 2017, the Claimant lodged a claim in front of FIFA against the Respondent claiming its proportion of the solidarity contribution in connection with the transfer of the player concerned from Club C to the Respondent. In particular, the Claimant requested 40% of 5% of the transfer compensation.

6. In spite of having been invited by FIFA to provide its position regarding the claim, the Respondent did not respond to the claim or make any statements at all during the course of the investigation

II. Considerations of the Single Judge of the sub-committee of the DRC

1. First of all, the Single Judge of the sub-committee of the DRC (hereinafter also referred to as: Single Judge) analysed whether he was competent to deal with the matter at stake. In this respect, the Single Judge took note that the present matter was submitted to FIFA on 30 October 2017. Consequently, the Single Judge concluded that the 2017 edition of the Rules Governing the Procedures of the Players’ Status Committee and the Dispute Resolution Chamber (hereinafter: Procedural Rules) is applicable to the matter at hand (cf. art. 21 of the Procedural Rules).

2. Subsequently, the Single Judge referred to art. 3 of the Procedural Rules, which states that the Dispute Resolution Chamber shall examine its jurisdiction in light of arts 22 to 24 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (edition 2018). In accordance with art. 3 of Annexe 6 in conjunction with art. 24 par. 3 and art. 22 lit. d) of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, the Single Judge is competent to decide on the present dispute relating to solidarity mechanism between clubs belonging to different associations handled through TMS.

3. Furthermore, the Single 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 Single Judge confirmed that in accordance with art. 26 par. 1 and par. 2 of said Regulations (edition 2018) and considering that the player was registered with the Respondent on 18 March 2016, the 2015 edition of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (hereinafter: Regulations) is applicable to the matter at hand as to the substance.

4. The competence of the Single Judge and the applicable regulations having been established, the Single Judge entered into the substance of the matter. In this respect, the Single Judge started by acknowledging all the above-mentioned facts as well as the arguments and the documentation submitted by the parties. However, the Single 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. In particular, the Single Judge recalled that in accordance with art. 6 par. 3 of Annexe 3 of the Regulations, FIFA may use, within the scope of proceedings pertaining to the application of the Regulations, any documentation or evidence generated or contained in the Transfer Matching System (TMS).

5. The Single Judge started by acknowledging that the Claimant is requesting the payment of 40% of 5% of the transfer compensation from the Respondent as solidarity contribution in connection with the international transfer of the professional player Player X, from Club C.

6. Moreover, the Single Judge duly noted that according to the relevant transfer agreement dated 17 February 2016, the player was transferred from Club C to the Respondent for the amount of USD 150,000.

7. In continuation, the Single Judge emphasised that, as established in art. 21 in combination with Annexe 5 of the Regulations, if a professional moves during the course of a contract, 5% of any compensation, not including training compensation paid to his former club, shall be deducted from the total amount of this compensation and to be distributed by the new club as solidarity contribution to the club(s) involved in the training and education of the player in proportion to the number of years the player has been registered with the relevant clubs between the sporting seasons of his 12th and 23rd birthday.

8. In continuation, the Single Judge took note that the Respondent, for its part, failed to present its response to the claim of the Claimant, despite having been invited to do so. In this way, so the Single Judge deemed, the Respondent renounced its right to defence and, thus, accepted the allegations of the Claimant.

9. Moreover, and as a consequence of the aforementioned consideration, the Single Judge established that in accordance with art. 9 par. 3 of the Procedural Rules he shall take a decision upon the basis of the documents already on file.

10. Having said that, the Single Judge recalled that according to the player passport issued by the Football Association of country A, the Claimant was involved in the training and education of the player.

11. On account of the above, the Single Judge decided that in accordance with art. 21 in combination with Annexe 5 of the Regulations, the Respondent must pay the relevant proportion of the solidarity contribution to the Claimant.

12. Having established the above, the Single Judge referred to art. 1 of Annexe 5 of the Regulations, which provides the figures for the distribution of the solidarity contribution, according to the period of time during which the player was registered with the relevant club.

13. In this respect, the Single Judge recalled that according to the player passport issued by the Football Association of country A the Player X, born on 14 May 1997, was registered with the Claimant as from 1 August 2008 until 31 July 2014.

14. On account of the above and in accordance with art. 1 of Annexe 5 of the Regulations, the Single Judge considered that the Claimant is, thus, entitled to receive solidarity contribution for the period as from 1 August 2008 until 31 July 2014, i.e. for the entire seasons of the player’s 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th birthday. In terms of the percentage of the 5% solidarity contribution, the Single Judge calculated that, on a pro rata basis, this corresponds to 40% of 5% as claimed by the Claimant.

15. Therefore, the Single Judge concluded that the Claimant is entitled to receive USD 3,000 as solidarity contribution in relation to the transfer of the player from Club C to the Respondent.

16. On account of the above, in accordance with art. 21 in combination with Annexe 5 of the Regulations, the Single Judge decided that the Respondent is liable to pay to the Claimant the amount of USD 3,000 as solidarity contribution for the player, Player X.

17. Lastly, the Single Judge 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 and the solidarity mechanism, 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, 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.

18. In respect of the above, the Single Judge held that the amount to be taken into consideration in the present proceedings is USD 3,000, related to the claim of the Claimant. Consequently, the Single Judge concluded that the maximum amount of costs of the proceedings corresponds to CHF 5,000 (cf. table in Annexe A of the Procedural Rules).

19. As a result, considering the degree of success, the Single Judge determined the final costs of the current proceedings to the amount of CHF 5,000, which shall be paid by the Respondent to FIFA.

III. Decision of the Single Judge of the sub-committee of the DRC

1. The claim of the Claimant, Club A, is accepted.

2. The Respondent, Club B, has to pay the amount of USD 3,000 to the Claimant within 30 days as from the date of notification of this decision.

3. In the event that the aforementioned sum 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 FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee for consideration and a formal decision.

4. The final costs of the proceedings in the amount of CHF 5,000 are to be paid by the Respondent, within 30 days as from the date of notification of the present decision, to FIFA to the following bank account with reference to case no.:

UBS Zurich

Account number 366.677.01U (FIFA Players’ Status)

Clearing number 230

IBAN: CH 27 0023 0230 3666 7701U

SWIFT: UBSWCHZH80A

5. 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 Single Judge of the sub-committee of the DRC of every payment received.

*****

Note relating to the motivated decision (legal remedy):

According to art. 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 (CAS)

Avenue de Beaumont 2

CH-1012 Lausanne

Switzerland

Tel: +41 21 613 50 00

Fax: +41 21 613 50 01

e-mail: info@tas-cas.org

For the Single Judge of the sub-committee of the DRC:

Omar Ongaro

Football Regulatory Director

Encl.: CAS directives