Acórdão do FIFA
Processo 09190768-E_2019-09-01

Data
01/09/2019

Training Compensation


Texto da decisão

Decis ion of the
S ingle Judge of the s ub-com m ittee of the Dis pute
Res olution Cham ber (DRC)
passed on 26 September 2019,

by S tefano S artori (Italy),
Single Judge of the sub-committee of the DRC,

on the claim presented by the club,

Club A, Country B
as Claimant

against the club,

Club C, Country D
as Respondent

regarding training compensation in connection with
the player, Player E

I.

Facts of the cas e

1.

According to the player passports issued by the Football Federation of Country B
(hereinafter: the Football Federation F) uploaded on the Transfer Matching System
(TMS) on 31 October 2017, the player, Player E (hereinafter: the player), born on
20 November 2000, was registered as an amateur with its affiliated club, Club A
(hereinafter: the Claimant), as from 26 August 2014 until 30 June 2015 and as from
8 October 2015 until 30 June 2016. According to said passport, the player was
previously registered with another Club of Country B, always as an amateur.

2.

Pursuant to the information provided by Football Federation F, the football season
in Country B starts in July and ends in June of the following year.

3.

In addition, the Football Federation F stated that “according to [its] records, the
player was never registered between 1 July 2016 and 30 October 2017”.

4.

According to the information contained in the TMS, the player moved from the
Claimant to the Club of Country D, Club C (hereinafter: the Respondent), on 2
November 2017, where he was registered as a professional for the first time.

5.

Pursuant to the information in the TMS, the Claimant belonged to category IV
(UEFA indicative amount of EUR 10,000 per year) whilst the Respondent belonged
to the category II (UEFA indicative amount of EUR 60,000 per year) at the moment
the player was registered with the later.

6.

In this framework, on 26 March 2018, the Claimant contacted FIFA claiming its
proportion of training compensation on the ground of the first registration of the
player as a professional to a club of a different association, before the end of the
season of his 23rd birthday. In particular, the Claimant requested the amount of
EUR 15,726.02.

7.

In spite of having been invited to do so, the Respondent did not reply to the
Claimant’s claim.

8.

Upon request from the FIFA administration, the Claimant declared that it was not
in a position to offer a contract to the player as per art. 6 par. 3 of Annexe 4 of the
Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, as it is an amateur club which is
why it is categorised as training category IV.

II.

Cons iderations of the S ingle Judge of the s ub-com m ittee of the DRC

1.

First of all, the Single Judge of the sub-committee of the Dispute Resolution
Chamber (hereinafter also referred to Single Judge) analysed whether he was
competent to deal with the case at hand. In this respect, he took note that the

Training compensation for the player, Player E
(Club A, Country B / Club C, Country D)

2

present matter was submitted to FIFA on 26 March 2018. Consequently, the 2018
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. art. 21 of the Procedural Rules).
2.

Subsequently, the Single Judge referred to art. 3 of the Procedural Rules, which
states that the Dispute Resolution Chamber shall examine its jurisdiction in light of
arts. 22 to 24 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (edition June
2019). In accordance with art. 3 of Annexe 6 in conjunction with art. 24 par. 3 and
art. 22 lit. d) of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, the Single
Judge is competent to decide on the present dispute relating to training
compensation between clubs belonging to different associations handled through
TMS.

3.

Furthermore, and taking into consideration that the player was registered with the
Respondent on 2 November 2017, the Single Judge analysed which regulations
should be applicable as to the substance of the matter. In this respect, he confirmed
that, in accordance with art. 26 par. 1 and 2 of the Regulations on the Status and
Transfer of Players (editions 2017, January and June 2018 as well as edition June
2019), the 2017 edition of the said regulations (hereinafter: Regulations) is
applicable to the matter at hand as to the substance.

4.

The competence of the Single Judge and the applicable regulations having been
established, the Single Judge entered into the substance of the matter. The Single
Judge started by acknowledging the above-mentioned facts of the case as well as
the documentation on file. However, the Single Judge emphasized that in the
following considerations he will refer only to the facts, arguments and
documentary evidence which he considered pertinent for the assessment of the
matter at hand. In particular, the Single Judge recalled that, in accordance with
art. 6 par. 3 of Annexe 3 of the Regulations, FIFA may use, within the scope of
proceedings pertaining to the application of the Regulations, any documentation
or evidence generated or contained in the TMS.

5.

First of all, the Single Judge recalled that, in accordance with the player passport
issued by the Football Federation F, the player, born on 20 November 2000, was
registered with the Claimant as an amateur from 26 August 2014 until 30 June
2015 and from 8 October 2015 until 30 June 2016.

6.

Then, the Single Judge noted that the player transferred from the Claimant to the
Respondent where he was registered as a professional.

7.

In continuation, the Single Judge took note that the Claimant requested the
payment of the training compensation from the Respondent on the ground of the
first registration of the player as a professional to the Respondent before the end

Training compensation for the player, Player E
(Club A, Country B / Club C, Country D)

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of the season of his 23rd birthday. In particular, the Single Judge took note that the
Claimant requested the amount of EUR 15,726.02.
8.

Equally, the Single Judge noted that the Respondent, despite having been invited
to do so, failed to present its response to the claim of the Claimant and, in this
way, renounced its right to defence.

9.

As a consequence of the aforementioned consideration, the Single Judge
established that, in accordance with art. 9 par. 3 of the Procedural Rules, he shall
take a decision upon the basis of the documents already on file, in other words
upon the statements and documents presented by the Claimant.

10.

Furthermore, and hereby referring to the rules applicable to training
compensation, the Single Judge stated that, as established in art. 20 of the
Regulations in combination with art. 1 par. 1 and art. 2 par 1. of Annexe 4 of the
Regulations, training compensation is payable, as a general rule, for training
incurred between the ages of 12 and 21 when a player is registered for the first
time as a professional before the end of the season of the player’s 23rd birthday or
when a professional is transferred between clubs of two different associations
before the end of the season of the player’s 23rd birthday.

11.

In continuation, the Single Judge observed that, based on the documents at
disposal, it can be established that the player was registered with the Claimant
before the end of the season of his 21st birthday, i.e. from 26 August 2014 until 30
June 2015 and from 8 October 2015 until 30 June 2016. What is more, the Single
Judge observed that according to the information provided by the Football
Federation F, the player was not registered with any clubs from 1 July 2016 until
30 October 2017.

12.

Furthermore, the Single Judge duly noted that the player then transferred from
the Claimant to the Respondent where he was registered as a professional for the
first time on 2 November 2017, i.e. before the end of the season of his 23rd birthday.

13.

In view of the foregoing, the Single Judge concluded that the Respondent is liable
to pay training compensation to the Claimant for the training of the player in
accordance with art. 20 as well as Annexe 4 of the Regulations.

14.

Turning his attention to the calculation of the training compensation, the Single
Judge referred to art. 3 par. 1 sent. 2 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations, which
stipulates that the amount payable is calculated on a pro rata basis according to
the period of training that the player spent with each club. As such, the Single
Judge concluded that the effective period of time to be considered in the matter
at stake corresponds to 10 months of the season of the player’s 14th birthday and
9 months of the season of the player’s 15th birthday.

Training compensation for the player, Player E
(Club A, Country B / Club C, Country D)

4

15.

Furthermore, the Single Judge referred to art. 5 paras. 1 and 2 of Annexe 4 of the
Regulations, which stipulate that, as a general rule, to calculate the training
compensation due to a player’s former club, it is necessary to take the costs that
would have been incurred by the new club if it had trained the player itself. In
addition, and in line with the provisions set out in art.5 par. 3 of Annexe 4 of the
Regulations, the Single Judge recalled that for the period(s) of training that
occurred during the seasons between the players’ 12th and 15th birthdays, training
compensation shall be based on the training and education costs of category IV
clubs.

16.

In this respect, the Single Judge highlighted that the indicative amount for UEFA
category IV clubs represents EUR 10,000 per year.

17.

Consequently, taking into consideration all the above, the Single Judge decided
that the Respondent is liable to pay the amount of EUR 15,726 to the Claimant for
the training and education of the player.

18.

Moreover, taking into consideration the Claimant’s claim as well as art. 3 par. 2 of
Annexe 4 of the Regulations, the Single Judge decided that the Respondent has to
pay interest at 5% p.a. over the amount payable as training compensation as of 3
December 2017 until the date of effective payment.

19.

Lastly, the Single Judge referred to art. 25 par. 2 of the Regulations in conjunction
with art. 18 par. 1 of the Procedural Rules, according to which, in proceedings
before the DRC relating to disputes regarding training compensation and the
solidarity mechanism, costs in the maximum amount of CHF 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 and that, in accordance with
Annexe A of the Procedural Rules, the costs of the proceedings are to be levied on
the basis of the amount in dispute.

20.

In respect of the above, the Single Judge held that the amount to be taken into
consideration in the present proceedings is EUR 15,726.02 related to the claim of
the Claimant. Consequently, the Single Judge concluded that the maximum
amount of costs of the present proceedings corresponds to CHF 5,000.

21.

As a result, the Single Judge determined the costs of the current proceedings to
the amount of CHF 5,000 which should be borne by the Respondent considering its
lack of reply.
*****

Training compensation for the player, Player E
(Club A, Country B / Club C, Country D)

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III. Decis ion of the S ingle Judge of the sub-com m ittee of the DRC

1. The claim of the Claimant, Club A, is 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, the amount of EUR 15,726 + 5% p.a. interest as
from 3 December 2017 until the date of effective payment.

3. In the event that the aforementioned sum plus interest is not paid within the stated
time limit, the present matter shall be submitted, upon request, to FIFA’s Disciplinary
Committee for consideration and a formal decision.

4. The final costs of the proceedings in the amount of CHF 5,000 are to be paid by the
Respondent, w ithin 30 day s of notification of the present decision, to FIFA to the
following bank account with reference to case no. TMS XXX:
UBS Zurich
Account number 366.677.01U (FIFA Players’ Status)
Clearing number 230
IBAN: CH 27 0023 0230 3666 7701U
SWIFT: UBSWCHZH80A

5. The Claimant is directed to inform the Respondent immediately and directly of the
account number to which the remittance under point 2. above is to be made and to
notify the Single Judge of the sub-committee of the DRC of every payment received

*****
Training compensation for the player, Player E
(Club A, Country B / Club C, Country D)

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Note relating to the m otiv ated decis ion (legal remedy):
According to art. 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 Single Judge of the
sub-committee of the DRC

Emilio García Silvero
Chief Legal & Compliance Officer
Encl.: CAS directives

Training compensation for the player, Player E
(Club A, Country B / Club C, Country D)

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