Labour Disputes
Texto da decisão
Decis ion of the
Dis pute Res olution Cham ber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 30 June 2017,
in the following composition:
Geoff Thom ps on (England), Chairman
Roy Verm eer (Netherlands ), member
Zola Majav u (S outh Africa), member
on the claim presented by the player,
Play er A, Country B,
as Claimant
against the club,
Club C, Country D,
as Respondent
regarding an employment-related dispute
between the parties
I.
Facts of the cas e
1.
On or about 15 June 2015, the Player of Country B, Player A (hereinafter:
Claimant), and the Club of Country D, Club C (hereinafter: Respondent), signed an
employment contract valid as from 15 June 2015 until 30 June 2017.
2.
On 17 May 2016, the parties agreed to terminate the employment contract by
mutual consent with the signature of a termination agreement.
3.
According to art. 2 of the termination agreement, the Respondent undertook to
pay the Claimant EUR 9,000 via three equal instalments of EUR 3,000 each, payable
on “15 July”, “15 August” and “15 September”.
4.
On 20 December 2016, the Claimant lodged a claim against the Respondent in
front of FIFA in relation to outstanding remuneration explaining that after the
signature of the termination agreement, and in spite of his default notices of
August and September 2016, the Respondent never made any payment.
5.
On account of the aforementioned, the Claimant requested that the Respondent
be ordered to pay him EUR 9,000 plus 5% interest on said amount, calculated as
from the date when the first instalment fell due.
6.
The Respondent submitted its response to the claim after the closure of the
investigation in the present matter.
II.
Cons iderations of the Dis pute Res olution Cham ber
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
hand. In this respect, it took note that the present matter was submitted to FIFA on
20 December 2016. Consequently, the Rules Governing the Procedures of the
Players’ Status Committee and the Dispute Resolution Chamber (edition 2015;
hereinafter: Procedural Rules) are 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 and par. 2 in
combination with art. 22 lit. b of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of
Players (edition 2016) the Dispute Resolution Chamber 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 Chamber analysed which regulations should be applicable as to
the substance of the matter. In this respect, it confirmed that in accordance with
Player A, Country B / Club C, Country D
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art. 26 par. 1 and 2 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players
(edition 2016), and considering that the present claim was lodged on 20 December
2016, the 2016 edition of said regulations (hereinafter: Regulations) is applicable to
the matter at hand as to the substance.
4.
The competence of the Chamber and the applicable regulations having been
established, 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.
The Chamber took note that, on or about 15 June 2015, the Claimant and the
Respondent signed an employment contract valid as from 15 June 2015 until 30
June 2017.
6.
In addition, the Chamber noted that, on 17 May 2016, the Claimant and the
Respondent terminated the employment contract by mutual consent with the
signature of the termination agreement. Furthermore, the members of the
Chamber took into account that according to the termination agreement, the
Respondent undertook to pay the amount of EUR 9,000 to the Claimant in three
equal and consecutive instalments of EUR 3,000 each.
7.
Subsequently, the DRC observed that the Respondent submitted its reply to the
claim after notification of the closure of the investigation of the matter at hand.
As a result, in line with art. 9 par. 4 of the Procedural Rules as well as the
Chamber’s constant jurisprudence in this regard, the DRC decided not to take into
account the reply of the Respondent and established that, in accordance with art. 9
par. 3 of the Procedural Rules, it shall take a decision upon the basis of the
documents on file that were provided prior to the closure of the investigationphase, in casu, upon the statements and documents presented by the Claimant.
8.
Having said that, the members of the Chamber concluded that it has remained
uncontested that the Respondent failed to pay the amount of EUR 9,000 to the
Claimant in accordance with the termination agreement.
9.
Consequently, the Chamber decided that, in accordance with the general legal
principle of pacta sunt servanda, the Respondent is liable to pay to the Claimant
the amount of EUR 9,000.
10.
In addition, taking into account the Claimant’s request as well as the constant
practice of the Dispute Resolution Chamber, the DRC decided that the Respondent
must pay to the Claimant interest of 5% p.a. on each instalment of EUR 3,000 as of
Player A, Country B / Club C, Country D
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the day following the day on which the relevant instalments fell due. In this
regard, the termination agreement having been signed on 17 May 2016 and the
original date of expiry of the contract being set on 30 June 2017, the Chamber was
satisfied that the relevant due dates are related to the year 2016.
11.
The Chamber concluded its deliberations in the present matter by deciding that
any further claim lodged by the Claimant is rejected.
III.
Decis ion of the Dis pute Res olution Cham ber
1.
The claim of the Claimant, Player A, is partially accepted.
2.
The Respondent, Club C, has to pay to the Claimant, w ithin 30 day s as from the
date of notification of this decision, outstanding remuneration in the amount of
EUR 9,000 plus the relevant interest until the date of effective payment as follows:
a.
b.
c.
5% p.a. on the amount of EUR 3,000 as of 16 July 2016;
5% p.a. on the amount of EUR 3,000 as of 16 August 2016;
5% p.a. on the amount of EUR 3,000 as of 16 September 2016.
3.
In the event that the total amount due to the Claimant, plus interest, is 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.
*****
Player A, Country B / Club C, Country D
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Note relating to the m otiv ated decis ion (legal remedy):
According to article 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
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 Dispute Resolution Chamber:
Omar Ongaro
Football Regulatory Director
Player A, Country B / Club C, Country D
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