Labour Disputes
Texto da decisão
Decision of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) judge
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 17 May 2013,
by Mr Theo van Seggelen (Netherlands), DRC judge,
on the claim presented by the club,
Club A, Country B,
as “Claimant”
against the club
Club C, Country D,
as “Respondent”
regarding training compensation in connection with the
Player E
I.
Facts of the case
1.
The Football Association of Country B confirmed that the Player E (hereinafter: the
player), born on 30 April 1991, was registered with its affiliated club Club A
(hereinafter: the Claimant) as from 4 November 2008 until 4 August 2011 as a
professional.
2.
The Football Association of Country B provided FIFA with the following “starting and
ending dates of the sporting seasons during which the player played for our affiliated
club, Club A Limited, (...)
Club
Club A
Club A
Club A
3.
Status
Non-amateur
Non-amateur
Non-amateur
Duration of Sporting Season
04.11.2008 to 19.07.2009
20.07.2009 to 20.05.2010
21.05.2010 to 04.08.2011
“
According to the information contained in the Transfer Matching System (TMS), the
player was registered with Club C (hereinafter: the Respondent) on 17 August 2011,
when the Respondent belonged to the category II (indicative amount within Football
Federation F of USD 30,000 per year).
4.
On 20 October 2011, the Claimant contacted FIFA asking for its proportion of training
compensation from the Respondent. According to the Claimant, on 6 August 2011, after
his employment contract with the Claimant had expired, the aforementioned player was
transferred to the Respondent as a professional.
5.
On account of the above, the Claimant deemed being entitled to receive from the
Respondent the payment of the total amount of USD 82,600, as well as 5% interest p.a.
calculated as from the date of its claim.
6.
In spite of having been asked to do so, the Respondent never responded to the claim
lodged against it, although it was informed that, in absence of a reply, a decision would
be taken on the basis of the information and evidences at disposal.
II.
Considerations of the DRC judge
1.
First of all, the DRC judge analysed whether he was competent to deal with the case at
hand. In this respect, he took note that the present matter was submitted to FIFA on 20
October 2011. Consequently, the 2008 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 par. 2 and 3 of the
Procedural Rules).
Training compensation in connection with the transfer of the player Player E
(Club A, Country B / Club C, Country D
2
2.
Subsequently, the DRC judge referred to art. 3 par. 1 and 2 of the Procedural Rules and
confirmed that in accordance with art. 24 par. 1 and 2 lit ii) in combination with art. 22
lit. d) of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (edition 2012) he is
competent to decide on the present litigation with an international dimension
concerning the training compensation between clubs belonging to different associations.
3.
Furthermore, the DRC 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,
he confirmed that in accordance with art. 26 par. 1 and 2 of the Regulations on the
Status and Transfer of Players (edition 2010 and 2012), and considering that the present
claim was lodged on 20 October 2011 as well as taking into account that the player was
registered with the Respondent on 17 August 2011, the 2010 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 judge and the applicable regulations having been
established, the DRC judge entered into the substance of the matter. In doing so, the
DRC judge started by acknowledging the above-mentioned facts of the case as well as
the documentation on file.
5.
In this respect and first of all, the DRC judge took into account that the Respondent had
not submitted any comments in response to the claim lodged by the Claimant, in spite of
having been invited to do so. Therefore, the DRC judge concluded that, in this way, the
Respondent had renounced to its right to defence and, thus, it had to be assumed that it
had accepted the allegations of the Claimant.
6.
Hence and bearing in mind the aforementioned, the DRC judge referred to art. 9 par. 3
of the Procedural Rules and pointed out that in the present matter a decision shall be
taken upon the basis of the documents on file.
7.
In this regard, the DRC judge recalled that the player was born on 30 April 1991 and was
registered with the Claimant as from 4 November 2008 until 4 August 2011 as a
professional.
8.
Furthermore, the DRC judge duly noted that the Claimant is requesting the payment of
training compensation for the training and education of the player concerned from the
Respondent in the amount of USD 82,600.
9.
In continuation, the DRC judge stated that, as established in art. 1 par. 1 of Annexe 4 in
combination with art. 2 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations, training compensation is
payable, as a general rule, for training incurred between the ages of 12 and 21 when the
player concerned is registered for the first time as a professional, or when a professional
is transferred between two clubs of two different Associations, before the end of the
season of the player’s 23rd birthday.
10. Equally, the DRC judge observed that it was undisputed that the player, who was a
professional, was transferred and registered to a club belonging to a different
association, i.e. the Respondent, before the end of the season of his 23rd birthday, i.e. on
17 August 2011. In view of the foregoing, the DRC judge decided that the Respondent is
Training compensation in connection with the player Player E
(Club A, Country B / Club C, Country D
3
liable to pay training compensation to the Claimant in accordance with art. 20 and
Annexe 4 of the Regulations.
11. Turning his attention to the calculation of training compensation, the DRC judge referred
to art. 5 par. 1 and 2 of the Annexe 4 of the Regulations, which stipulate that as a
general rule, it is necessary to take the costs that would have been incurred by the new
club as if it had trained the player itself and thus it is calculated based on the training
costs of the new club multiplied by the number of years of training with the former club.
12. In view of the above, the DRC judge concluded that based on the documents at disposal,
which remained uncontested by the Respondent, it can be established that the player in
question, born on 30 April 1991, was registered with the Claimant as from 4 November
2008 until 4 August 2011 as a Professional and thereafter registered with the Respondent
on 17 August 2011, i.e. before the end of the season of his 23rd birthday and thus,
entitling the Claimant to receive training compensation from the Respondent.
13. As a result, and considering the above points II. 7 and 8 as well as art. 3 par. 1 of the
Annexe 4 of the Regulations, which stipulates that the amount payable is calculated on a
pro rata basis according to the period of training that the player spent with each club,
the DRC judge concluded that the effective period of time to be considered at the matter
at stake corresponds to 33 months, i.e. the complete season 2008/2009, the complete
season 2009/2010 and 9 months of the season 2010/2011.
14. In addition, the DRC judge took due note that according to the information contained in
TMS, the Respondent belonged to category II during the season 2010/2011 (indicative
amount within Football Federation F of USD 30,000 per year).
15. Consequently and taking into account all the above-mentioned elements, the DRC judge
decided that the Claimant is entitled to receive training compensation from the
Respondent in the amount of USD 82,500, plus 5% interest p.a. on said amount as of 20
October 2011, in connection with the transfer of the Player E.
16. In view of all the above, the DRC judge decided that the claim of the Claimant is partially
accepted and that the Respondent has to pay to the Claimant USD 82,500, plus 5%
interest p.a. on said amount as of 20 October 2011.
17. Lastly, the DRC judge referred to art. 25 par. 2 of the Regulations in conjunction with art.
18 par. 1 of the Procedural Rules, according to which in the proceedings before the
Dispute Resolution Chamber, including the DRC judge, relating to disputes regarding
training compensation and the solidarity mechanism, costs in the maximum amount of
CHF 25,000 are levied. The relevant provision further states that the costs are to be borne
in consideration of the parties’ degree of success in the proceedings and that, in
accordance with Annexe A of the Procedural Rules, the costs of the proceeding are to be
levied on the basis of the amount in dispute.
18. In respect of the above, the DRC judge held that the amount to be taken into
consideration in the present proceedings is USD 82,600. Therefore, the DRC judge
concluded that the maximum amount of costs of the proceedings corresponds to CHF
10,000.
Training compensation in connection with the transfer of the player Player E
(Club A, Country B / Club C, Country D
4
19. In conclusion, in view of the particularity of the matter as well as considering that the
Respondent never took the stand in the proceedings, the DRC judge determined the final
amount of costs of the current proceedings to the amount of CHF 10,000.
20. Consequently, the amount of CHF 10,000 has to be paid by the Respondent to cover the
costs of the present proceedings.
III. Decision of the DRC judge
1.
The claim of the Claimant, Club A, is partially accepted.
2.
The Respondent, Club C, has to pay to the Claimant, Club A, within 30 days as from the
date of notification of this decision, the amount of USD 82,500 as well as 5% interest p.a.
on said amount as of 20 October 2011 until the date of effective payment.
3.
If the aforementioned amount plus interest is not paid within the stated time limit, the
present matter shall be submitted, upon request, to FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee for
consideration and a formal decision.
4.
Any further claim lodged by the Claimant, Club A, is rejected.
5.
The final amount of costs of the proceedings in the amount of CHF 10,000 is to be paid
by the Respondent, Club C, within 30 days as from the date of notification of the
present decision, as follows:
5.1
The amount of CHF 9,000 has to be paid to FIFA to the following bank account:
UBS Zurich
Account number 366.677.01U (FIFA Players’ Status)
Clearing number 230
IBAN: CH27 0023 0230 3666 7701U
SWIFT: UBSWCHZH80A
5.2
6.
The amount of CHF 1,000 has to be paid to the Claimant, Club A.
The Claimant, Club A, is directed to inform the Respondent, Club C, immediately and
directly of the account number to which the remittances under points 2 and 5.2 above
are to be made and to notify the DRC Judge of every payment received.
*****
Training compensation in connection with the player Player E
(Club A, Country B / Club C, Country D
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Note relating to the motivated decision (legal remedy):
According to art. 67 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
Avenue de Beaumont 2
1012 Lausanne
Switzerland
Tel: +41 21 613 50 00
Fax: +41 21 613 50 01
e-mail: [email protected]
www.tas-cas.org
For the DRC judge:
__________________________________
Markus Kattner
Deputy Secretary General
Encl.: CAS directives
Training compensation in connection with the transfer of the player Player E
(Club A, Country B / Club C, Country D
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