Training Compensation
Texto da decisão
Decision of the Single Judge of the
sub-committee of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed on 29 January 2021,
regarding training compensation for the player C
BY:
Stefano Sartori (Italy), Single Judge of the sub-committee of the DRC
CLAIMANT:
A, Country A
RESPONDENT:
B, Country B
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I. FACTS OF THE CASE
Player:
C
Date of birth:
xxx
Player passport:
2020
issued by the Football Association Country A (Country A FA) on 10 September
Season
Birthday
Club(s)
2010
14
2011
2012
Registration dates
Status
A
19.07.2010-31.12.2010
Amateur (Permanent)
15
A
entire season
Amateur (Permanent)
16
A
01.01.2012 – 23.09.2012
Amateur (Permanent)
A
24.09.2012 – 31.12.2012
Professional (Permanent)
th
th
th
2013
17th
A
entire season
Professional (Permanent)
2014
th
18
A
01.01.14-06.10.14 &
08.10.14-31.12.14
Professional (Permanent)
2015
19th
A
entire season
Professional (Permanent)
2016
20
A
01.01.2016-20.03.2016
Professional (Permanent)
D
21.03.2016-31.12.2016
Pro (loan from A)
2017
21
D
01.01.2017-31.01.2017
Pro (loan from A)
A
01.02.2017-31.12.2017
Professional (Permanent)
2018
22
A
01.01.2018-10.01.2018
Professional (Permanent)
E
11.01.2018-05.04.2018
Pro (loan from A)
A
06.04.2018-09.04.2018
Professional (Permanent)
D
10.04.2018-31.12.2018
Pro (loan from A)
D
01.01.2019-08.04.2019
Pro (loan from A)
A
25.04.2019-06.08.2019
Professional (Permanent)
2019
th
st
nd
23
rd
Sporting season:
1 January to 31 December (Country A)
Date of transfer:
9 October 2019, from A (Country A) to B (Country B) as professional (out of
contract)
B indicated in TMS that the player’s contract with the Claimant had been
mutually terminated on 6 August 2019
Claimant club:
A (Country A)
Respondent club:
B (Country B)
UEFA, category III (EUR 30,000 per year)
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Claim and Response:
1.
On 28 November 2020, the Claimant requested EUR 168,329 as training compensation for the
subsequent registration of the player as professional with the Respondent, plus 5% interest as
per the due date, for the time the player was registered with it between his 14th birthday season
until his 21st birthday season.
2.
On 2 December 2020, the FIFA administration submitted a proposal to the parties, informing
them that it was of the opinion that the Respondent should pay the amount of EUR 168’219.18
to the Claimant.
3.
On 3 December 2020, the Claimant accepted the proposal.
4.
On 21 January 2021, the Respondent rejected the proposal and the claim of the Claimant on
the following basis:
a. The player registered with it after the end of his 23rd birthday season, thus no training
compensation is due as per art. 20 and Annexe 4 RSTP;
b. The player was a free agent. As such, the Respondent, referring to CAS’s definition of
a free agent, indicated that the player was free to register with a new club without the
payment of a transfer fee. The Respondent concluded that therefore no training
compensation could be claimed;
5.
Alternatively, the Respondent highlighted that:
a. The player completed his training before registering with the Respondent. In this
respect, the Respondent underlined that the player became a professional with the
Claimant in September 2012 and that he made 20 appearances for the latter (statistics
attached);
b. The amount of training compensation claimed is disproportionate;
c. The Respondent was only freshly promoted to the Country B first division when it
registered the player thus it should not be considered as training category III but rather
category IV.
II. LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS
Applicable law:
Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP): October 2019 edition
Rules Governing the Procedures of the Players’ Status Committee and the
Dispute Resolution Chamber (Procedural Rules): January 2021 edition
Jurisdiction:
Yes, uncontested
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Admissible:
Yes, uncontested
Decision:
1.
The claim is based on the subsequent registration of the player as a professional with the
Respondent before the end of the season of his 23rd birthday.
2.
It is uncontested that the player was registered as a professional with the Claimant until 6 August
2019.
3.
It is also uncontested that the player registered as a professional with the Respondent on 9
October 2019.
4.
The Respondent contested the entitlement of the Claimant to receive training compensation
arguing inter alia that the player was registered with it during the course of the season of his
24th birthday.
5.
According to art. 1 par. 1 of Annexe 4 RSTP, training compensation shall be payable, as a general
rule, up to the age of 23 for training incurred up to the age of 21.
6.
Art. 2 par. 1 lit. ii) of Annexe 4 RSTP specifies that training compensation is due when a
professional is transferred between clubs of two different associations (whether during or at the
end of his contract) before the end of the season of his 23rd birthday.
7.
As per the jurisprudence of the DRC, in order to establish the season of a player’s birthday in
the context of training compensation, the football season of his former club is the one to be
taken into account.
8.
The Claimant’s football season 2019, which corresponded to the season of the player’s 23rd
birthday, started on 1 January 2019 and ended on 31 December 2019.
9.
Based on the above, on 9 October 2019, when the player registered as a professional with the
Respondent, the season of his 23rd birthday had not yet ended.
10.
Thus, it is established that the player registered with the Respondent during the course of the
season of his 23rd birthday.
11.
The Respondent further based its rejection of the claim arguing that the player had been a free
agent, having mutually terminated his contract with the Claimant on 6 August 2019, and
therefore was considered to be “free” to register without the payment of any compensation.
12.
Training compensation is due when a professional is transferred between clubs of two different
associations whether during or at the end of his contract before the end of the season of his
23rd birthday (cf. art. 2 par. 1 lit. ii) of Annexe 4 RSTP).
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13.
The player mutually terminated his contract with the Claimant on 6 August 2019 and registered
with the Respondent on 9 October 2019, i.e. at the end of such contract.
14.
Therefore, in line with art. art. 2 par. 1 lit ii) of Annexe 4 RSTP training compensation is in
principle due to the Claimant for the subsequent registration of the player as a professional with
the Respondent.
15.
The Respondent additionally alleged that the player had already ended his training period when
he registered with it, as he was a professional with the Claimant since 2012 and represented it
in 20 fixtures.
16.
In accordance with art. 1 par. 1 of Annexe 4 RSTP, training compensation is not due if “it is
evident that a player has already terminated his training period before the age of 21”.
17.
As per the jurisprudence of the DRC, several objective factors shall be taken into account when
assessing the question of whether or not a player has terminated his education prior to the end
of his 21st birthday season. Both the DRC and CAS adopt a strict approach in this sense.
18.
Such factors are, included but not limited to:
a. The number of appearances of a player with the senior team of a club;
b. The player’s value at the former club (established through the salary, any loan fee paid
by loaning clubs, transfer fee paid);
c. Appearances of the player at international level;
d. Number of loans of the player when at the former club;
e. The player’s notoriety and reputation.
19.
The argumentation of the Respondent is based on the fact that the player signed a professional
contract when he was 16 years old and that he played 20 games for the Claimant over the
course of 8 seasons.
20.
In principle, the signature of a professional contract alone is not sufficient evidence to determine
that the player terminated his training period.
21.
A player making 20 first team appearances over the course of 8 seasons, i.e. an average of 2.5
appearances per season, does not per se qualifies him as an established first team member.
22.
Considering the absence of sufficient elements provided by the Respondent in support of the
allegation that the player had completed his training and education before the end of the season
of his 21st birthday, in line with art. 12 par. 3 of the Procedural Rules according to which any
party claiming a right on the basis of an alleged fact shall carry the burden of proof, such
argumentation shall be set aside.
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23.
Finally, the Respondent viewed the amount claimed as being disproportionate, and deemed that
it was to be considered a training category IV club because it had been freshly promoted to the
Bulgarian first division.
24.
Such requests were not further elaborated by the Respondent and were not accompanied by
any documentary evidence in support of these allegations.
25.
In line with art. 12 par. 3 of the Procedural Rules, those last arguments of the Claimant cannot
be taken into account.
26.
In view of all the above, it is determined that training compensation is due to the Claimant for
the subsequent registration of the player as a professional with the Respondent.
27.
According to art. 1 and art. 2 par. 1 lit. i) of Annexe 4 RTSP in combination with art. 3 par. 1 of
Annexe 4 RSTP, training compensation is payable by the club subsequently registering the player
as professional to his former club only for the time he was effectively trained by that club.
Training costs are based on the training category of the registering club.
28.
As per art. 5 par. 2 of Annexe 4 RSTP, in the case of subsequent transfers, training compensation
is calculated based on the training costs of the new club multiplied by the number of years of
training with the former club.
29.
The Respondent was classified as training category III when registering the player as a
professional, i.e. training costs of EUR 30,000 per year.
30.
Art. 5 par. 3 of Annexe 4 RSTP foresees that 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.
31.
The training costs for category IV clubs within UEFA are set at EUR 10,000 per year.
32.
Art. 3 par. 1 of Annexe 4 RSTP stipulates that the amount payable of training compensation is
calculated on a pro rata basis according to the period of training that the player spent with each
club.
33.
As per the player passport of 10 September 2019, the player was registered with the Claimant
between the start of the season of his 12th birthday and the end of the season of his 21st birthday
as follows:
a. As from 19 July 2010 until 31 December 2010, i.e. during 166 days of the season of
his 14th birthday;
b. As from 1 January 2011 until 31 December 2011, i.e. during the entire season of his
15th birthday;
c. As from 1 January 2012 until 31 December 2012, i.e. during the entire season of his
16th birthday;
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d. As from 1 January 2013 until 31 December 2014, i.e. during the entire season of his
17th birthday;
e. As from 1 January 2014 until 6 October 2014 and as from 8 October 2014 until 31
December 2014, i.e. during 364 days of the season of his 18th birthday;
f. As from 1 January 2015 until 31 December 2015, i.e. during the entire season of his
19th birthday;
g. As from 1 January 2016 until 20 March 2016, i.e. during 80 days of the season of his
20th birthday; and
h. As from 1 February 2017 until 31 December 2017, i.e. during 334 days of the season
of his 21st birthday.
34.
Therefore, the Claimant is entitled to receive EUR 168,301.37 as training compensation,
corresponding to:
a. EUR 4,520.55 for the training and education provided to the player during the course
of the season of his 14th birthday;
b. EUR 10,000 for the training and education provided to the player during the course of
the season of his 15th birthday;
c. EUR 30,000 for the training and education provided to the player during the course of
the season of his 16th birthday;
d. EUR 30,000 for the training and education provided to the player during the course of
the season of his 17th birthday;
e. EUR 29,917.81 for the training and education provided to the player during the course
of the season of his 18th birthday;
f. EUR 30,000 for the training and education provided to the player during the course of
the season of his 19th birthday;
g. EUR 6,493.15 for the training and education provided to the player during the course
of the season of his 20th birthday;
h. EUR 27,369.86 for the training and education provided to the player during the course
of the season of his 21st birthday;
35.
The Claimant requested to be awarded interest at the rate of 5% per annum as per the due
date.
36.
In this respect, the well-established jurisprudence of the DRC applies interests as from the first
overdue day for the payment of training compensation.
37.
The player was registered with the Respondent on 9 October 2019. According to art. 3 par. 2
of Annexe 4 RSTP, training compensation was to be paid to the training club(s) 30 days after
said date, i.e. until 8 November 2019.
38.
As a result, the Claimant is entitled to receive 5% interests per annum as from the date at which
training compensation became overdue to the Claimant, that is to say as from 9 November
2019.
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39.
The interest rate of 5% per annum on EUR 168,301.37 shall apply until the date of effective
payment of the outstanding training compensation and its applicable interest.
40.
In view of all the above, the claim of the Claimant is partially accepted and the Claimant shall
receive EUR 168,301.37 as training compensation, plus 5% interest p.a. on that amount, as
from 9 November 2019 until the date of effective payment.
41.
Any further claims lodged by the Claimant are rejected.
42.
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).
43.
Art. 24bis RSTP applies.
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III. DECISION
1.
The claim of the Claimant, A, is partially accepted.
2.
The Respondent, B, shall pay to the Claimant:
-
EUR 168’301.37 as training compensation, plus 5% interest per annum on that amount
as from 9 November 2019, until the date of effective payment.
3.
Any further claim of the Claimant is rejected.
4.
The Claimant shall immediately inform the Respondent of the bank account to which the
Respondent must pay the due amount (including all applicable interest).
5.
The Respondent shall provide evidence of full payment to [email protected]. If applicable,
the evidence shall be translated into an official FIFA language (English, French, German, Spanish).
6.
If the due amount (including all applicable interest) is not paid by the Respondent within 45 days
as from notification of the bank account details, the following consequences shall apply:
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.
2. The ban will be lifted immediately, and prior to its complete serving, following confirmation
that the due amount (including all applicable interest) has been received by the Claimant.
3. 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.
7. 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 DRC:
Emilio García Silvero
Chief Legal & Compliance Officer
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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).
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Fédération Internationale de Football Association
FIFA-Strasse 20 P.O. Box 8044 Zurich Switzerland
www.fifa.com | legal.fifa.com | [email protected] | T: +41 (0)43 222 7777
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