F.I.F.A. – Dispute Resolution Chamber / Camera di Risoluzione delle Controversie – labour disputes / controversie di lavoro (2017-2018) – fifa.com – atto non ufficiale – Decision 8 March 2018
Decision of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 8 March 2018,
in the following composition:
Geoff Thompson (England), Chairman
Johan van Gaalen (South Africa), member
Stefano Sartori (Italy), member
Pavel Pivovarov (Russia), member
Muzammil Bin Mohamed (Singapore), 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 15 August 2016, 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 valid as from the date of signature until 30 June 2017.
2. On 1 January 2017, the Claimant and the Respondent signed an “Additional Agreement to the Contract dated 15 August 2016” (hereinafter: termination agreement), by means of which “the Parties have agreed to prematurely terminate the Contract […] dated 15.08.2016 by mutual consent from 01.01.2017”.
3. In accordance with the termination agreement, the Respondent undertook to pay to the Claimant the amounts of USD 300,000 and EUR 35,000.
4. According to the termination agreement, it “shall enter into force upon being properly signed by the Parties”.
5. By letters dated 18 July 2017 and 5 October 2017, the Claimant put the Respondent in default of payment of USD 300,000 and EUR 35,000.
6. On 13 September 2017, the Claimant lodged a claim against the Respondent in front of FIFA asking that the Respondent be ordered to pay to him the amounts of USD 300,000 and EUR 35,000, corresponding to the amounts provided in the settlement agreement.
7. The Claimant further asked to be awarded 5% interest p.a. as of 1 February 2017, in particular, “the dates these amounts became due – until the day of effective payment”.
8. 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 stake. In this respect, the DRC took note that the present matter was submitted to FIFA on 13 September 2017. Consequently, the DRC concluded that the 2017 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 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. b) of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (edition 2018) the DRC 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 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 confirmed that in accordance with art. 26 par. 1 and par. 2 of said Regulations (edition 2018) and considering that the present claim was lodged in front of FIFA on 13 September 2017, the 2016 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 members of 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 submitted by the parties. 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. In this respect, the DRC acknowledged that, following the conclusion of an employment contract on 15 August 2016, which was set to expire on 30 June 2017, the Claimant and the Respondent signed a termination agreement, on 1 January 2017, by means of which the Respondent undertook to pay to the Claimant the amounts of USD 300,000 and EUR 35,000 without further specifying any due dates.
6. In continuation, the members of the Chamber noted that, according to the Claimant, the Respondent had failed to pay the above-mentioned amounts and, consequently, he put the Respondent in default of payment of said sums for the first time on 18 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, despite having been invited to do so. In this way, the Chamber deemed, the Respondent renounced its right to 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.
9. Having said that, the members of the Chamber underlined that it remained uncontested that the Respondent, after having signed the termination agreement has not fulfilled the contractual obligations set forth therein and failed to pay to the Claimant the amounts of USD 300,000 and EUR 35,000.
10. 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 amounts of USD 300,000 and EUR 35,000 to the Claimant.
11. Having established the foregoing, and with regards to the Claimant’s request for the payment of interest on said sums, the Chamber was of the opinion that, given the absence of due dates in the termination agreement, the Claimant was entitled to 5% interest p.a. as of the date of his first default notice of 18 July 2017.
12. The Chamber concluded its deliberations in the present matter by rejecting any further claim of 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 amounts of USD 300,000 and EUR 35,000, plus 5% interest p.a. as from 18 July 2017 until the date of effective payment.
3. In the event that the above-mentioned amounts plus interest due to the Claimant are not paid by the Respondent within the stated time limit, 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 remittances are 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 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 Dispute Resolution Chamber:
Omar Ongaro
Football Regulatory Director
Encl.: CAS directives