F.I.F.A. – Dispute Resolution Chamber / Camera di Risoluzione delle Controversie – labour disputes / controversie di lavoro (2019-2020) – fifa.com – atto non ufficiale – Decision 12 June 2020
Decision of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) judge
passed via videoconference, on 12 June 2020,
regarding an employment-related dispute concerning the player Pedro Miguel Braga Rebocho
BY:
Daan de Jong (Netherlands), DRC Judge
CLAIMANT:
Pedro Miguel Braga Rebocho, Portugal
Represented by Mr Nelson Soares
RESPONDENT:
Besiktas Futbol, Turkey
Represented by Mr Koray Akalp
I. FACTS OF THE CASE
1. On 15 August 2019, the Portuguese player, Pedro Miguel Braga Rebocho (hereinafter: the player or the Claimant) and the Turkish club, Besiktas Futbol (hereinafter: the club or the Respondent) signed an employment contract (hereinafter: the contract) valid as from the date of signature until 31 May 2020. The contract further provided for the possible extension of the contract until 21 May 2024 in case the player was definitively transferred from the French club En Avant Guingamp.
2. In accordance with the contract, the player was entitled inter alia to the following remuneration for the season 2019/2020: EUR 550,000 payable in 10 monthly instalments of EUR 55,000 starting from 31 August 2019 payable at the end of each month until 31 May 2020.
3. The contract further provided for a housing allowance of EUR 3,000 per month.
4. As per the player, “Despite the Player having [fulfilled] all his contractual obligations, the Club did not comply its obligations toward[s] the Player and did not pay his salaries nor the house allowances, as stipulated in the employment contract”.
5. On 19 February 2020, the player sent a default letter to the club granting 15 days for the club to remedy its default and requesting the payment of EUR 169,250, as follows:
EUR 41,250, corresponding to 3/4 of the November’s salary;
EUR 110,000, corresponding to the monthly salaries for December 2019 and January 2020;
EUR 18,000, as rental allowances for the period August 2019 – January 2020.
6. On 16 March 2020, the player lodged a claim against the club in front of FIFA for outstanding remuneration requesting the total amount of EUR 227,50 corresponding to:
EUR 41,250 as part of the salary of November 2019;
EUR 55,000 for the salary of December 2019,
EUR 55,000 for the salary of January 2020;
EUR 55,000 for the salary of February 2020:
EUR 21,000 for the rent allowance of August 2019 to February 2020 in the amount of EUR 3,000 each;
“the salaries and rent allowance that will become due until the employment contract’s term, namely on March, April and May 2020”;
5% interest p.a. on each outstanding amounts as from the due dates until the date of effective payment;
Legal expenses;
Sporting sanctions to be imposed on the Respondent in accordance with art. 12 bis par. 4 of the FIFA RSTP.
7. In reply to the claim of the Claimant, the Respondent held that due to financial difficulties it had some delay in paying the Claimant’s salaries. It also explained that it currently was trying to pay the Claimant but due to the situation regarding Covid19, it was having some difficulties.
8. The Respondent acknowledged outstanding amounts due to the Claimant but held that it owed less than what was claimed, and that EUR 221,249.99 was due to the Claimant.
9. In particular, the Respondent contested the house allowances of August and September 2019 arguing that on 25 October 2019 it paid EUR 214,700 corresponding to the salaries of August and September 2019 (EUR 110,000), the sign on fee of EUR 100,000, the rent allowance of August in the amount of EUR 1,700 since the contract only started on 15 August, and the rent allowance of September 2019 for an amount of EUR 3,000. The club provided some proof of payments.
10. After being requested by the FIFA administration to provide comments exclusively on the proof of payments provided by the Respondent, the Claimant argued that only the rent allowance of August and September 2019 were contested by the Respondent.
11. Moreover, the Claimant acknowledged receipt of 2 payments on 30 April 2020 corresponding to:
EUR 96,249.99 for the salaries of November and December 2019;
EUR 9,000 for the payment of the house allowance of October to December 2019.
12. This being said, the Claimant considered that with those payments and the explanation of the club, the salaries and house allowance due until December 2019 had been paid and were no longer due.
13. The Claimant however deemed that the Respondent should still pay interest on those amounts claimed for the time frame until December 2019 included.
14. The Claimant moreover still claimed the salaries and house allowances of January and February 2020 in the amount of EUR 116,000.
15. The Claimant further deemed that the salaries and house allowances for March and April have become due at the moment he sent his latest correspondence.
II. CONSIDERATIONS OF THE DRC JUDGE
1. First of all, the DRC judge analysed whether he was competent to deal with the matter at hand. In this respect, he took note that the present matter was submitted to FIFA on 16 March 2020. Consequently, the Rules Governing the Procedures of the Players’ Status Committee and the Dispute Resolution Chamber (edition 2019; hereinafter: Procedural Rules) are applicable to the matter at hand (cf. art. 21 of the Procedural Rules).
2. Subsequently, the DRC judge referred to art. 3 par. 2 and par. 3 of the Procedural Rules and confirmed that in accordance with art. 24 par. 1 and par. 2 in conjunction with art. 22 lit. b of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (edition June2020) he is competent to deal with the matter at stake, which concerns an employment-related dispute with an international dimension between a Portuguese player and a Turkish club.
3. Furthermore, the DRC judge analysed which regulations should be applicable as to the substance of the matter. In this respect, he confirmed that in accordance with art. 26 par. 1 and par. 2 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (edition June 2020), and considering that the present claim was lodged on 16 March 2020, the March 2020 edition of said regulations (hereinafter: Regulations) is applicable to the matter at hand.
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 on file. 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 observed that the parties signed an employment contract on 15 August 2019 in accordance with which the player was entitled to receive, inter alia¸ the monthly remuneration of EUR 55,000 and a monthly housing allowance of EUR 3,000.
6. In continuation, the DRC judge noted that the Claimant explained that the Respondent failed to pay the alleged outstanding amount of EUR 227,250 corresponding to some part unpaid for the salary of November 2019, the salaries of December 2019 to February 2020 as well as housing allowances from August 2019 to February 2020. Consequently, the Claimant asked to be awarded the payment of the total amount of EUR 227,250 plus 5% interest as of the due date.
7. The DRC judge further noted that the Claimant also requested in his claim the salaries and housing allowances for March, April and May 2020 as those “will become due until the employment contract’s term”.
8. Having said that, the DRC judge took note of the reply of the Respondent according to which it had delays in term of payments due to the Covid-19 outbreak and acknowledged some outstanding due to the Claimant but still deemed it to be less than requested. The DRC judge further noted that the Respondent held that EUR 221,249.99 was still due to the Claimant corresponding to the remaining part of the November 2019’s salary, the salaries of December 2019 to February 2020 as well as the house allowance for October 2019 to February 2020. The DRC judge took note that the Respondent provided several proof of payments in this regards.
9. The DRC judge then observed that following the request of the FIFA administration to the Claimant to provide comments exclusively on the proof of payments, the Claimant acknowledged receiving some additional payments and deemed that EUR 116,000 corresponding to the salaries and housing allowances of January and February 2020 were still outstanding. The DRC judge further noted that the Claimant was nonetheless requesting interest on the amounts initially claimed even if paid.
10. In view of the above the DRC judge found it important to underline that it remains uncontested that the salaries and house allowances for January and February 2020 remained outstanding.
11. On account of the aforementioned considerations, the DRC judge established that the Respondent failed to remit the Claimant’s remuneration in the total amount of EUR 116,000 corresponding to monthly salaries and house allowances of January and February 2020.
12. With regard to the claim of the Claimant to receive payment of interest on the salaries and house allowances up to December 2019 and bearing in mind that the relevant amount has been fully paid by the Respondent, the DRC judge found it important to remind the parties that it is the practice of the Dispute Resolution Chamber not to grant interest on amounts already paid. As such, said request is rejected by the DRC judge.
13. As to the request of the Claimant to be awarded the amounts of the salaries and house allowances for March to May 2020, the DRC judge observed that at the time the claim had been lodged by the Claimant in March 2020, those amounts were not due yet. Moreover, the DRC judge underlined that during the proceedings, the FIFA administration had specifically requested the Claimant to provide comments on the documents provided by the Respondent, and as such it did not take into account the other elements brought forward by the Claimant and considered those elements as unsolicited.
14. Consequently, the DRC judge decided that, in accordance with the legal principle of pacta sunt servanda, the Respondent is liable to pay to the Claimant overdue payables in the total amount of EUR 116,000.
15. 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 Claimant interest at the rate of 5% p.a. until the date of effective payment on each payment the day following the due date provided in the contract, and noted that in the absence of any due dates for the payments, each salary would therefore become due on the last day of the relevant month.
16. 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 amounts of outstanding remuneration and/or compensation in due time.
17. 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.
18. Therefore, bearing in mind the above, the DRC judge decided that, in the event that the Respondent does not pay the amounts 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.
19. 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 amounts, in accordance with art. 24bis par. 3 of the Regulations.
20. The DRC judge concluded its deliberation by rejecting any further claim of the Claimant.
III. DECISION OF THE DRC judge
1. The claim of the Claimant, Pedro Miguel Braga Rebocho, is partially accepted.
2. The Respondent, Besiktas Futbol, has to pay to the Claimant, the following amount of EUR 116,000 as outstanding remuneration plus 5% interest p.a. until the date of effective payment as follows:
- 5% interest p.a. as from 1 February 2020 on the amount of EUR 58,000;
- 5% interest p.a. as from 1 March 2020 on the amount of EUR 58,000.
3. Any further claims of the Claimant are 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 DRC judge:
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:
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