Solidarity Contribution
Texto da decisão
Decision of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) judge
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 10 July 2013,
by Mr Philippe Diallo (France), DRC judge,
on the claim presented by the club,
Club C, from country R
as Claimant
against the club,
Club A, from country U
as Respondent
regarding a solidarity contribution dispute
related to the transfer of the player M
I.
Facts of the case
1.
The country R Football Federation confirmed that the player M (hereinafter:
the player), born in March 1981, was registered with its affiliated club, Club C
(hereinafter: the Claimant), from 15 October 1993 until 24 January 2000.
2.
The football season in country R ran from 1 September until 31 August of the
following year during the aforementioned period.
3.
According to the information contained in the Transfer Matching System
(TMS), on 24 June 2011, Club A, from country U (hereinafter: the
Respondent), and Club H, from country S, signed an agreement for the
transfer of the player from Club H to the Respondent (hereinafter: the
transfer agreement) for the amount of EUR 3,000,000, to be paid
"immediately upon signing" of the transfer agreement.
4.
According to the country U Football Federation, the player was registered
with the Respondent on 21 August 2011.
5.
On 12 July 2012, the Claimant contacted FIFA claiming its proportion of the
solidarity contribution in connection with the transfer of the player from
Club H to the Respondent for the alleged amount of EUR 4,200,000.
6.
In view of all the above, the Claimant requested the amount of EUR 75,000 or
the percentage of 2.5% of the total transfer compensation, i.e. 50% of the
5% solidarity contribution.
7.
On 21 February 2013, the Respondent declared its readiness to pay to the
Claimant "the right amount of the solidarity contribution", but that first, it
wanted to receive from the Claimant "the exact amount of the net of the
solidarity contribution without any extra charges or fees and the mechanism
of their calculation", as well as the Claimant's bank account number.
8.
Although the Claimant allegedly informed the Respondent about its bank
account number, the exact claimed amount and its calculation, the Claimant
indicated that eventually no payment was received.
II.
Considerations of the DRC judge
1.
First of all, the Dispute Resolution Chamber judge (hereinafter: the DRC
judge) analysed whether he was competent to deal with the case at hand. In
this respect, the DRC judge first referred to art. 21 par. 1 and 3 of the Rules
Governing the Procedures of the Players' Status Committee and the Dispute
Resolution Chamber (edition 2012). The present matter was submitted to
Solidarity Contribution for the player M
(Club C, from country R / Club A, from country U)
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FIFA on 12 July 2012, thus before the aforementioned Rules entered into
force on 1 December 2012. Therefore, 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.
2.
Subsequently, the DRC judge referred to art. 3 par. 2 of the Procedural Rules,
which states that the jurisdiction of the DRC judge is set out in art. 24 par. 2
of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (edition 2012). In
accordance with art. 22 lit. d) and art. 24 par. 2 iii) of the aforementioned
Regulations, the DRC judge concluded that he was competent to deal with a
dispute regarding solidarity contribution involving a club affiliated to the
country R Football Federation and a club affiliated to the country U Football
Federation.
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, the DRC judge referred, on the one hand, to
art. 26 par. 1 and 2 in connection with art. 29 of the Regulations on the
Status and Transfer of Players (editions 2012 and 2010) and, on the other
hand, to the fact that the present claim was lodged on 12 July 2012 and that
the player was registered for the Respondent on 21 August 2011. In view of
the aforementioned, the DRC judge concluded that 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 documents contained in the file.
5.
First of all, the DRC judge noted that the Respondent had indicated that it
wanted to settle the matter amicably, but that it wished to be informed
about “the exact amount of the net of the solidarity contribution without
any extra charges or fees (…)”. The Claimant, in this regard, stated that it had
informed the Respondent about the calculation but that eventually no
amicable settlement had been reached between the parties, i.e. no solidarity
contribution had been received by the Claimant.
6.
In this respect, the DRC judge noted that the Claimant claimed the payment
of the amount of EUR 75,000 as solidarity contribution from the Respondent,
corresponding to 2.5% of the total compensation, i.e. 50% of 5% of the total
compensation.
Solidarity Contribution for the player M
(Club C, from country R / Club A, from country U)
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7.
In addition to the above, the DRC judge took into account that according to
the information contained in TMS, on 24 June 2011, Club H and the
Respondent agreed upon a transfer compensation of EUR 3,000,000 to be
paid "immediately upon signing" of the transfer agreement.
8.
Having established the above, the DRC judge referred to art. 21 of the
Regulations in combination with art. 1 of Annexe 5 of the Regulations, which
stipulate that, if a professional moves during the course of a contract, 5% of
any compensation, not including training compensation paid to his former
club, shall be deducted from the total amount of this compensation and be
distributed by the new club as a solidarity contribution to the club(s) involved
in the training and education of the player in proportion of the number of
years the player has been registered with the relevant club(s) between the
seasons of his 12th and 23rd birthday.
9.
In this respect, the DRC judge recalled that the country R Football Federation
had confirmed that the player, born in March 1981, was registered with the
Claimant as from 15 October 1993 until 24 January 2000.
10.
On account of the above and in accordance with art. 1 of Annexe 5 of the
Regulations, the DRC judge considered that the Claimant is, thus, entitled to
receive solidarity contribution for the period as from 15 October 1993 until
24 January 2000, i.e. for 11 months during the season of the player's 13th
birthday, for 5 complete seasons between the player's 14th and 18th birthday
and for 5 months during the season of the player's 19th birthday, resulting in
an entitlement of 48,74% of the 5% solidarity contribution.
11.
In view of all of the above, the DRC judge decided to partially accept the
claim of the Claimant and held that the Respondent is liable to pay the
amount of EUR 73,110 to the Claimant as solidarity contribution in relation to
the transfer of the player from Club H to the Respondent.
12.
Lastly, the DRC judge referred to art. 25 par. 2 of the Regulations in
combination with art. 18 par. 1 of the Procedural Rules, according to which,
in proceedings before the DRC, including the DRC judge, relating to disputes
regarding training compensation and the solidarity mechanism, costs in the
maximum amount of currency of country J 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 (cf. art. 18 par. 1 of the
Procedural Rules).
13.
In respect of the above, and taking into account that the Claimant is the
successful party in the present proceedings, the DRC judge concluded that the
Respondent has to bear the costs of the current proceedings in front of FIFA.
Solidarity Contribution for the player M
(Club C, from country R / Club A, from country U)
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14.
According to Annexe A of the Procedural Rules, the costs of the proceedings
are to be levied on the basis of the amount in dispute.
15.
On that basis, the DRC judge held that the amount to be taken into
consideration in the present proceedings is EUR 75,000 related to the claim of
the Claimant. Consequently, the DRC judge concluded that the maximum
amount of costs of the proceedings corresponds to currency of country
J 10,000 (cf. table in Annexe A).
16.
Considering that the case at hand did not compose any complex factual or
legal issues as well as taking into account the particularities of the present
matter, the DRC judge determined the costs of the current proceedings to the
amount of currency of country J 8,000. In accordance with point 13 above,
the DRC judge decided that the Respondent has to pay the amount of
currency of country J 8,000 as costs of the present proceedings.
*****
III.
Decision of the DRC judge
1.
The claim of the Claimant, Club C, is partially accepted.
2.
The Respondent, Club A, has to pay to the Claimant, Club C, the amount of
EUR 73,110 within 30 days as from the date of notification of the present
decision.
3.
If the aforementioned sum is not paid within the aforementioned deadline,
an interest rate of 5% per year will apply as of expiry of the fixed time limit
and the present matter shall be submitted, upon request, to FIFA's
Disciplinary Committee for consideration and a formal decision.
4.
Any further claims lodged by the Claimant, Club C, are rejected.
5.
The final amount of costs of the proceedings in the amount of currency of
country J 8,000 are to be paid by the Respondent, Club A, within 30 days as
of notification of the present decision as follows:
5.1. The amount of currency of country J 6,000 to FIFA to the following bank
account with reference to case no. XX-XXXXX:
5.2. The amount of currency of country J 2,000 directly to the Claimant, Club
C.
Solidarity Contribution for the player M
(Club C, from country R / Club A, from country U)
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6.
The Claimant, Club C, is directed to inform the Respondent, Club A,
immediately and directly of the account number to which the remittance is to
be made and to notify the Dispute Resolution Chamber of every payment
received.
Note relating to the motivated decision (legal remedy):
According to article 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
CH-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:
Jérôme Valcke
Secretary General
Encl. CAS directives
Solidarity Contribution for the player M
(Club C, from country R / Club A, from country U)
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