Labour Disputes
Texto da decisão
Decision of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 15 July 2016,
in the following composition:
Thomas Grimm (Switzerland), Deputy Chairman
Theo van Seggelen (Netherlands), member
Takuya Yamazaki (Japan), member
Mario Gallavotti (Italy), member
Mohamed Al Saikhan (Saudi Arabia), member
on the claim presented by the player,
Player A, Country B
as Claimant
against the club,
Club C, Country D
as Respondent
regarding an employment-related dispute
arisen between the parties
I.
Facts of the case
1.
On 2 February 2015, the Player of Country B, Player A (hereinafter; the Claimant or
the player) and the Club of Country D, Club C (hereinafter; the Respondent or the
club) concluded an employment contract valid as of the date of its signature until
31 May 2015.
2.
According to the contract, the Claimant was entitled to receive from the
Respondent the total amount of USD 160,000 payable as follows:
a. USD 40,000 on 15 February 2015;
b. USD 40,000 on 31 March 2015;
c. USD 40,000 on 31 April 2015 and;
d. USD 40,000 on 29 May 2015.
3.
Moreover, clause 3 of the employment contract reads, inter alia, as follows: “There
is no unpredicted extra payments for any bonus or premium related to
success/condition described hereby contract (sic)”
4.
On 18 January 2016, the Claimant lodged a claim against the Respondent in front
of FIFA requesting outstanding remuneration in the amount of USD 132,000.
According to the Claimant, the Respondent only made one payment of USD 28,000
as part of the amount due on 15 February 2015.
5.
In its reply, the Respondent rejected the claim in full. In particular, the Respondent
argued that it had complied with all its obligations towards the player. In this
respect, the Respondent enclosed the following payment receipts:
Date of payment
3 February 2015
13 February 2015
6 March 2015
16 March 2015
1 April 2015
21 April 2015
27 May 2015
6.
Amount
USD 10,000
18,750
USD 15,000
7,000
10,000
USD 51,250
USD 82,600
Payment method
Cash
Bank transfer
Bank transfer
Bank transfer
Bank transfer
Cash
Cash
In his replica, the Claimant stated that “The documents enclosed by [the club] refer
to the payment of several bonuses regarding the victories by the team in the
championship, and, as a consequence, due by the Respondent to the Claimant, as a
team’s player”.
Player A, Country B / Club C, Country D
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7.
In its rejoinder, the Respondent argued that the Claimant had not presented any
evidence to substantiate his allegations and stressed that all the payments made
were related to the amounts provided for in the contract.
II.
Considerations of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
First, the Dispute Resolution Chamber (hereinafter also referred to as the DRC or
the Chamber) analysed whether it was competent to deal with the matter at stake.
In this respect, it took note that the present matter was submitted to FIFA on 18
January 2016. Consequently, the 2015 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 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 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 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 Chamber confirmed that in accordance with art. 26 par. 1 and 2 of
the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (edition 2016), and
considering that the claim was lodged on 18 January 2016, the 2015 edition of the
aforementioned regulations (hereinafter; the 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, and entering into the substance of the matter, the Chamber started by
acknowledging the above-mentioned facts as well as the documentation contained
in the file. 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.
First of all, the members of the DRC acknowledged that on 2 February 2015, the
parties entered into an employment contract valid until 31 May 2015 whereby it
was agreed that the Claimant was entitled to the total amount of USD 160,000
payable as follows:
a. USD 40,000 on 15 February 2015;
b. USD 40,000 on 31 March 2015;
Player A, Country B / Club C, Country D
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c. USD 40,000 on 31 April 2015 and;
d. USD 40,000 on 29 May 2015.
6.
Having established the above, the members of the Chamber focused their attention
on the claim of the Claimant who argues that the Respondent has an outstanding
amount towards him of USD 132,000 as, according to the Claimant, the Respondent
only made one payment of USD 28,000 as part of the amount due on 15 February
2015.
7.
The Chamber further noted that, conversely, the Respondent, while enclosing
several payment receipts, rejected the Claimant’s claim and argued that it did not
have any pending debts with the Claimant.
8.
Furthermore, the Chamber duly noted that the Claimant challenged the nature of
the payments contained in the receipts presented by the Respondent as these “refer
to the payment of several bonuses regarding the victories by the team in the
championship, and, as a consequence, due by the Respondent to the Claimant, as a
team’s player”.
9.
With the aforementioned considerations in mind, the Chamber wished to stress,
first and foremost, that the Claimant did not dispute, at any moment, having
received the amounts contained in the payment receipts presented by the
Respondent but merely argued that they were not salary payments but rather
“bonuses regarding the victories by the team in the championship”.
10.
In this context, the members of the Chamber referred to art. 12 par. 3 of the
Procedural Rules which stipulates that any party claiming a right on the basis of an
alleged fact shall carry the burden of proof and emphasised that the Claimant failed
to prove that the payments made by the Respondent were “bonuses regarding the
victories by the team in the championship”.
11.
Along these lines, the members of the Chamber emphasised that the employment
contract concluded by the parties does not contain any provision which foresees
the payment of any kind of bonuses. On the contrary, the contract explicitly
provides that “There is no unpredicted extra payments for any bonus or premium
related to success/condition described hereby contract”.
12.
In view of the foregoing, the Chamber had no other alternative than to conclude
that the amounts paid to the Claimant were payments related to his salaries.
13.
With the above in mind, the Chamber turned its attention to the payment receipts
presented by the Respondent and observed that they sum up the amount of USD
172,000.
Player A, Country B / Club C, Country D
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14.
As a consequence of all the foregoing considerations, the Chamber concluded that
the claim of the Claimant should be rejected.
III.
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the Claimant, Player A, is rejected.
*****
Note relating to the motivated decision (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:
____________________________
Marco Villiger
Deputy Secretary General
Encl. CAS directives
Player A, Country B / Club C, Country D
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