Labour Disputes
Texto da decisão
Decision of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) judge
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 17 May 2013,
by Theo van Seggelen (Netherlands), DRC judge,
on the claim presented by the player,
Player S, from country B
as Claimant
against the club,
Club A, from country G
as Respondent
regarding an employment-related dispute
between the parties
I.
Facts of the case
1.
On 31 August 2011, Player S, from country B (hereinafter: the Claimant), and
the Club A, from country G (hereinafter: the Respondent), signed an
employment contract valid as from the date of its signature until 31 June 2013
(hereinafter: the contract).
2.
On 30 December 2011, the parties signed an agreement to terminate the
relevant employment contact by mutual consent.
3.
In accordance with the termination agreement, the parties inter alia agreed
that the Claimant was entitled to receive from the Respondent, remuneration
amounting to EUR 10,000 to be paid as follows:
“3,000 € until 20/01/2012 at the latest,
3,000 € until 20/02/2012 at the latest,
4,000 € until 20/03/2012 at the latest”.
4.
On 2 November 2012, the Claimant lodged a claim against the Respondent in
front of FIFA maintaining that the latter had failed to comply with the
financial obligations deriving from the above-mentioned agreement.
5.
The Claimant claims to have formally notified the Respondent of its pending
obligations, but unfortunately to no avail. In light of the aforementioned, the
Claimant is requesting to be awarded the stipulated amount of EUR 10,000
plus 5% interest p.a.
6.
In spite of having been invited by FIFA to do so, the Respondent did not
present any reply to the Claimant´s claim.
II.
Considerations of the DRC judge
1.
First of all, the Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) judge analysed whether he
was competent to deal with the case at hand. In this respect, the DRC judge
took note that the present matter was submitted to FIFA on 2 November 2012.
Consequently, the DRC judge concluded that the 2008 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 2008 and 2012 edition of the Procedural
Rules).
Player S, from country B / Club A, from country G
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2.
Subsequently, the DRC judge referred to art. 3 par. 2 of the Procedural Rules
and confirmed that in accordance with art. 24 par. 1 and par. 2 lit. i. in
combination with art. 22 lit. b) of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer
of Players (edition 2012) the DRC judge is competent to deal with the matter
at stake, which concerns an employment–related dispute with an international
dimension between a country B player and a country G club.
3.
In continuation, 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 (editions 2010
and 2012) and considering that the present claim was lodged in front of FIFA
on 2 November 2012, 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. The DRC
judge started by acknowledging the above-mentioned facts of the case as well
as the documentation contained in the file.
5.
In this respect, the DRC judge acknowledged that the parties had signed an
employment contract on 31 August 2011 and a termination agreement on 30
December 2011, by means of which the parties had put an end to the
employment contract. Said termination agreement stipulated that the
Respondent would pay to the Claimant the amount of EUR 10,000 in the
following three instalments, (i) EUR 3,000 payable until 20 January 2012; (ii)
EUR 3,000 payable until 20 February 2012 and; (iii) EUR 4,000 payable until 20
March 2012.
6.
In continuation, the DRC judge noted that the Claimant alleged that the
Respondent had failed to pay the amount of EUR 10,000 as established by the
parties in the private agreement. Consequently, the Claimant asked to be
awarded with the total amount of EUR 10,000, plus interest.
7.
Subsequently, the DRC judge observed that the Respondent failed to present
its response to the claim of the Claimant, despite having been invited to do so.
In this way, so the DRC judge deemed, the Respondent renounced to its right
of defence and, thus, accepted the allegations of the Claimant.
Player S, from country B / Club A, from country G
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8.
As a result, the DRC 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
on file.
9.
In view of all the above, the DRC judge concluded that it could be established
that the Respondent had failed to pay to the Claimant the amount of EUR
10,000 as agreed upon between the parties in the termination agreement
dated 30 December 2011.
10.
As a consequence of the foregoing consideration, and in accordance with the
general legal principle of pacta sunt servanda, the DRC judge decided that the
Respondent must fulfil its obligations as per agreement and is to be held liable
to pay the outstanding amount of EUR 10,000 to the Claimant plus 5% interest
p.a. on said amount as of 2 November 2012 until the date of effective
payment.
III.
Decision of the DRC judge
1.
The claim of the Claimant, Player S, is accepted.
2.
The Respondent, Club A, has to pay to the Claimant, within 30 days as from
the date of notification of this decision, the amount of EUR 10,000 plus 5%
interest p.a. on said amount as of 2 November 2012 until the date of effective
payment.
3.
If the aforementioned sum plus interest is not paid within the stated time
limit, the present matter shall be submitted, upon request, to the FIFA
Disciplinary Committee for consideration and a formal decision.
Player S, from country B / Club A, from country G
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4.
The Claimant is directed to inform the Respondent immediately and directly
of the account number to which the remittance is to be made and to notify
the DRC judge of every payment received.
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
Player S, from country B / Club A, from country G
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