Official Documents
Texto da decisão
Decision of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 3 September 2015,
in the following composition:
Thomas Grimm (Switzerland), Deputy Chairman
Philippe Diallo (France), member
Mohamed Mecherara (Algeria), member
Johan van Gaalen (South Africa), member
Leonardo Grosso (Italy), 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 5 August 2013, the player from country B, Player A (hereinafter: the player or
the Claimant), and the club from country D, Club C (hereinafter: the club or the
Respondent), entered into an employment contract valid as from the date of
signature until 31 May 2014.
2.
On 3 May 2014, the Claimant signed a “Letter of Release” by means of which he
declared the following: “(…) I came to an agreement about the payment in the
amount of 268,250 on the date of the signing of the release letter in return for all
the outstanding receivable amount that is belonging to the season 2013-2014. I
accept the offer for the payment of the outstanding receivable amount by check
on the date of 31.12.2014 in the amount of 268,250 and I also declare that I was
granted the check and will not raise further material or immaterial claims. I also
declare that I have no outstanding receivable amount in whatsoever nature and I
will not claim anything else in material or in immaterial way and I release the club
as of today forever and retrospectively from all the liabilities.”
3.
On 3 June 2015, the Claimant lodged a claim against the Respondent in front of
FIFA, requesting to be awarded the amount of 268,250 plus 5% interest as from
31 December 2014, as well as the costs of proceedings and legal fees.
4.
The Claimant explained that when he tried to cash the check it was “without
coverage”. As a result, on 2 March 2015, he sent a letter to the Respondent asking
it to settle the debt until 6 March 2015, however no reply was received.
5.
In its reply, the Respondent referred to the “Letter of Release” and stressed that
the Claimant “had been granted the check” and had confirmed that he “shall not
raise further material or immaterial claims”. Therefore, the Respondent held that
it did not owe the player any amount.
II.
Considerations of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
First of all, the Dispute Resolution Chamber (hereinafter also referred to as the
Chamber or DRC) analysed whether it was competent to deal with the case at
hand. In this respect, it took note that the present matter was submitted to FIFA
on 3 June 2015. Consequently, the 2015 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. article 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 2 in
combination with art. 22 lit. b) of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of
Player A, country B / Club C, country D
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Players (edition 2015), 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 from country B and a club from 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, it confirmed that in accordance with art. 26 par. 1 and 2 of
the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (edition 2015) and
reiterating that the present claim was lodged in front of FIFA on 3 June 2015, the
2015 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, 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 Chamber acknowledged that it remained
undisputed between the parties that the Respondent acknowledged a debt
towards the Claimant of 268,250 in the “Letter of Release” dated 3 May 2014,
which would be paid via check on 31 December 2014.
6.
In continuation, the members of the Chamber noted that the Claimant lodged a
claim against the Respondent in front of FIFA for the amount of 268,250 plus 5%
interest, as well as the costs of proceedings and legal fees, maintaining that the
check issued by the Respondent was not covered.
7.
Finally, the Chamber observed that the Respondent maintained that it did not
owe the Claimant any amount, since the Claimant had received the check and had
confirmed in the “Letter of Release” dated 3 May 2014 that he would not raise
any further claim.
8.
Having taken into consideration the previous considerations, the Chamber wished
to outline that it finds it evident from the content of the “Letter of Release” that
the Claimant would solely not raise a claim against the Respondent if he would
have received the amount 268,250 on 31 December 2014. In the Chamber’s
opinion, the “Letter of Release” of 3 May 2014 cannot be interpreted as if the
Claimant agreed to receive a future entitlement and, at the same time,
committed to not raise any claim regarding that very same future entitlement, if
that future payment would not have been made. In other words, the Chamber
finds that the Claimant did not waive its entitlement to the amount of 268,250 on
3 May 2014, when the payment was to be received on 31 December 2014 only, i.e.
Player A, country B / Club C, country D
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more than 7 months later. As a consequence, the Chamber concludes that the
Claimant is in a position to claim the amount of 268,250.
9.
As a result, and considering that the Respondent did not indicate or prove that
the relevant amount had in fact been received by the Claimant, the Chamber
concluded that the Claimant is entitled to the amount of 268,250.
10.
In this regard, the DRC decided as well that the Claimant has to return to the
Respondent the check amounting to 268,250.
11.
In continuation and with regard to the Claimant's request for interest, the
Chamber decided that the Claimant is entitled to receive interest at the rate of
5% p.a. on the amount of 268,250 as from 1 January 2015.
12.
Finally, the Dispute Resolution Chamber decided to reject the Claimant’s claim
pertaining to legal costs and costs of the proceedings in accordance with art. 18
par. 4 of the Procedural Rules and the Chamber’s respective longstanding
jurisprudence in this regard.
*****
III.
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the Claimant, Player A, is accepted.
2.
The Respondent, Club C, has to pay to the Claimant, within 30 days as from the
date of notification of the present decision, the amount of 268,250 plus 5%
interest p.a. on said amount as from 1 January 2015 until the date of effective
payment.
3.
In the event that the amount due 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.
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
Dispute Resolution Chamber of every payment received.
Player 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 Dispute Resolution Chamber:
Markus Kattner
Acting Secretary General
Encl. CAS directives
Player A, country B / Club C, country D
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