Labour Disputes
Texto da decisão
Decis ion of the
Dis pute Res olution Cham ber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 14 September 2018,
in the following composition:
Geoff Thom ps on (England), Chairman
Jérôm e Perlem uter (France), member
Elv is Chetty (S eychelles ) , member
S tefano S artori (Italy ) , member
Takuy a Yam azaki (Japan) , 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
arisen between the parties
I.
Facts of the cas e
1.
On 21 January 2017, the player of Country B, Player A (hereinafter: the Claimant) and
the club of Country D, Club C (hereinafter: the Respondent), signed an employment
contract (hereinafter: the contract) valid as from 21 January 2017 until 15 June 2017.
2.
According to art. 5 of the contract, the Claimant was entitled, inter alia, to receive from
the Respondent the total amount of USD 50,000 for half of the 2016/2017 sporting
season, to be paid as follows:
a. USD 10,000 as “a down payment to be paid upon successfully passing the medical
examination and the issuance of the player’s card by the Football Federation of
Country D”;
b. USD 40,000 “divided over five months at USD 8,000 to be paid at the end of each
month as from the end of February 2017 until the end of the contract”.
3.
By means of a letter dated 6 July 2017, the Claimant put the Respondent in default of
the payment of USD 32,000, corresponding to the outstanding salaries allegedly owed to
him in accordance with the contract.
4.
On 27 September 2017, the Claimant lodged a claim against the Respondent in front of
FIFA, requesting to be awarded USD 32,000, corresponding to four monthly salaries of
USD 8,000 each, as from March 2017 until June 2017.
5.
The Claimant further asked that the procedural costs be imposed on the Respondent.
6.
Despite having been invited by FIFA to provide its comments on the present matter, the
Respondent did not answer to the Claimant’s claim.
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 27 September
2017. Consequently, the Rules Governing the Procedures of the Players’ Status
Committee and the Dispute Resolution Chamber (2017 edition; hereinafter: Procedural
Rules) are applicable to the matter at hand (cf. art. 21 of the Procedural Rules).
2.
Subsequently, the members of the DRC referred to art. 3 par. 1 of the Procedural Rules
and confirmed that in accordance with art. 24 par. 1 in conjunction with art. 22 lit. b of
the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (2018 edition) the Dispute
Resolution Chamber is competent to deal with the matter at stake, which concerns an
Player A, Country B / Club C, Country D
Page 2 of 5
employment-related dispute with an international dimension between a player of
Country B and a club of Country D.
3.
Furthermore, the DRC analysed which regulations should be applicable as to the
substance of the matter. In this respect, it confirmed that in accordance with art. 26 par.
1 and par. 2 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (2016 and 2018
editions), and considering that the present claim was lodged on 27 September 2017, 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 on 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.
Having said this, the DRC acknowledged that the Claimant and the Respondent signed
an employment contract valid as from 21 January 2017 until 15 June 2017, in accordance
with which the Claimant was entitled to receive from the Respondent, inter alia, the
following amounts:
a. USD 10,000 as a “down payment to be paid upon successfully passing the
medical examination and the issuance of the player’s card by the Football
Federation of Country D”;
b. USD 40,000 “divided over five months at USD 8,000 to be paid at the end of
each month as from the end of February 2017 until the end of the contract”.
6.
The Dispute Resolution Chamber further acknowledged that, according to the Claimant,
the Respondent had failed to pay his remuneration in the total amount of USD 32,000,
corresponding to the monthly salaries of March, April, May and June all 2017, in the
amount of USD 8,000 each. The DRC further noted that the Claimant put the
Respondent in default of payment of the aforementioned amount on 6 July 2017.
7.
Furthermore, the Chamber took note that the Respondent, for its part, failed to present
its response to the claim of the Claimant, in spite of having been invited to do so.
Consequently, the DRC was of the opinion that the Respondent renounced its right
of defence and, thus, accepted the allegations of the Claimant .
8.
Moreover, and as a consequence of the aforementioned consideration, the Chamber
established that in accordance with art. 9 par. 3 of the Procedural Rules it shall take a
decision upon the basis of the documents already on file on file; in other words, upon
the statements and documents presented by the Claimant.
Player A, Country B / Club C, Country D
Page 3 of 5
9.
Having said that, the Chamber highlighted that it remained uncontested that the
Respondent had not fulfilled its financial obligations set forth in the employment
contract signed between the parties and that it failed to pay to the Claimant the amount
of USD 32,000 in accordance with said contract.
10.
Moreover, and taking into account the documentation presented by the Claimant in
support of his petition, the DRC concluded that the Claimant had substantiated his claim
pertaining to outstanding remuneration with sufficient documentary evidence.
11.
On account of the above considerations and the documentation on file, the DRC decided
that, in accordance with the general legal principle of “pacta sunt servanda”, the
Respondent is liable to pay the amount of USD 32,000 to the Claimant.
12.
Finally, the Dispute Resolution Chamber held that the Claimant’s claim for legal costs is
rejected in accordance with art. 18 par. 4 of the Procedural Rules and the Chamber’s
respective longstanding jurisprudence.
13.
In conclusion, for all the above reasons, the Chamber decided to partially accept the
Claimant’s claim and to reject any further claim lodged by the Claimant.
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 USD 32,000.
3.
In the event that the amount due to the Claimant in accordance with the abovementioned number 2. is not paid by the Respondent within the stated time limit, interest
at the rate of 5% p.a. will fall due as of expiry of the aforementioned time limit and 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 remittance is to be made and to notify the Dispute
Resolution Chamber of every payment received.
*****
Note relating to the m otiv ated decis ion (legal remedy):
Player A, Country B / Club C, Country D
Page 4 of 5
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
e-mail: [email protected]
www.tas-cas.org
For the Dispute Resolution Chamber:
Omar Ongaro
Football Regulatory Director
Encl: CAS directives
Player A, Country B / Club C, Country D
Page 5 of 5