Training Compensation
Texto da decisão
Decision of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 6 November 2014,
in the following composition:
Thomas Grimm (Switzerland), Deputy Chairman
Theo van Seggelen (Netherlands), member
Carlos González Puche (Colombia), member
Theodoros Giannikos (Greece), member
Mohamed Al-Saikhan (Saudi Arabia), member
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 E
I.
Facts of the case
1.
According to the player passport issued by the Football Federation of Country B,
the Player E (hereinafter: the player), born on 26 January 1997, was registered
as an amateur with the following Clubs of Country B:
-
Club A
-
Club F
-
Club G
as from 8 October 2004 until 19
September 2010;
as from 20 September 2010 until 28
September 2011;
as from 29 September 2011 until 9
October 2013.
2.
According to a confirmation from the Football Federation of Country B, Club A
(hereinafter: the Claimant) belonged to the category I (indicative amount of EUR
90,000 per year) during the period of time the player was registered with it.
3.
The football seasons in Country B during the period of time the player was
registered with the Claimant started on 1 July and ended on 30 June of the
following year.
4.
The Single Judge of the Players’ Status Committee decided on 8 October 2013 to
authorize the provisional registration of the player with Club C (hereinafter: the
Respondent) as of 9 October 2013.
5.
According to the information contained in the Transfer Matching System (TMS),
the Respondent belonged to the category I (indicative amount of EUR 90,000
per year) during the season when the player was registered with it, i.e. the
2013/2014 season.
6.
On 21 May 2014, the Claimant contacted FIFA claiming the payment of training
compensation from the Respondent, on the ground that the player had signed
his first professional contract with the Respondent in April 2014.
7.
The Claimant explained that it had already received an amount of EUR 99,808
from the Respondent on 10 April 2014 pertaining to training compensation.
However, the Claimant deemed that the “exception to the exception” of art. 5
par. 3 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players
(hereinafter: the Regulations) applies since the player was transferred to the
Respondent before the end of the season of his 18th birthday and, therefore,
deemed that it is entitled to a total amount of EUR 196,273.45. As a result, the
Claimant is claiming EUR 96,465.45 plus 5% interest as of the due date.
Training compensation in connection with the Player E
(Club A, Country B / Club C, Country D)
2/8
8.
In reply to the Claimant’s claim, the Respondent stated that it had paid an
amount of EUR 99,808 to the Claimant on 28 March 2014 and that no further
amount is due to the Claimant. The Respondent confirmed that the player
signed a scholarship agreement with it on 1 July 2013 and, subsequently, that
he was registered with it as a scholar on 18 October 2013, and that training
compensation was therefore due. In this respect, the Respondent referred to art.
5 par. 3 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations as well as to the jurisprudence of the
DRC. In accordance with said jurisprudence, the “exception to the exception”
cannot be applied retro-actively to the years of training before 1 October 2009,
when the amendment to art. 5 par. 3 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations came into
force. Therefore, the Respondent argued that the training compensation for the
period prior to 1 October 2009 shall be based on the training and education costs
of category IV clubs.
II.
Considerations of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
First of all, the Dispute Resolution Chamber (hereinafter also referred to as DRC
or Chamber) 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 21
May 2014. Consequently, the 2012 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 2012 and 2014 editions 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. d) of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of
Players (edition 2014), the Dispute Resolution Chamber is competent to deal
with the matter at stake relating to training compensation between clubs
belonging to different associations.
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 (editions 2012 and
2014), and considering that the player was registered with the Respondent on
18 October 2013, the 2012 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.
The competence of the DRC and the applicable regulations having been
established, the Chamber entered into the substance of the matter. The
members of the Chamber started by acknowledging the facts of the case as well
4.
Training compensation in connection with the Player E
(Club A, Country B / Club C, Country D)
3/8
as the documentation on file. However, the DRC 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 DRC took note that the Claimant maintained that it is entitled to
receive training compensation from the Respondent in the amount of EUR
196,273.45, indicating that the player had signed his first professional contract
with the Respondent before the end of the season of his 23rd birthday.
6.
Equally, the DRC took note that the Claimant explained that it had already
received an amount of EUR 99,808 from the Respondent and, consequently, that
it claimed the remaining amount of EUR 96,465.45 from the Respondent.
7.
However, the Chamber noted that the Respondent rebutted the claim of the
Claimant, stating, first of all, that it had already paid an amount of EUR 99,808
to the Claimant.
8.
Equally, the DRC took due note of the Respondent’s statement that the Claimant
is not entitled to a higher amount of training compensation in view of art. 5
par. 3 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations and its application according to the
jurisprudence of the DRC.
9.
After having carefully examined the parties’ positions, taking into consideration
all the aforementioned arguments, the DRC observed that it is undisputed
between the parties that the Claimant is entitled to receive training
compensation from the Respondent, but that the parties disagreed on the exact
amount of training compensation to which the Claimant is entitled.
10.
In this respect, and hereby referring to the rules applicable to training
compensation, the Chamber stated that, as established in art. 1 par. 1 of Annexe
4 in combination with art. 2 par. 1 lit. i. 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. Based on the
documentation provided by the Football Federation of Country B and the
Football Association of Country D, the Chamber concluded that it could indeed
be established that the player had been registered as a professional for the first
time with the Respondent.
11.
Consequently, taking into account the above-mentioned considerations, the
Chamber concurred that training compensation is, in principle, due.
Training compensation in connection with the Player E
(Club A, Country B / Club C, Country D)
4/8
12.
Turning its attention to the calculation of training compensation, the Chamber
referred to art. 5 par. 1 and par. 2 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations, which
stipulate that as a general rule, to calculate the training compensation, it is
necessary to take the costs that would have been incurred by the new club if it
had trained the player itself. Furthermore, the Chamber referred to the
exception contained in the first sentence of art. 5 par. 3 of Annexe 4 of the
Regulations which stipulates that to ensure that training compensation for very
young players is not set at unreasonably high levels, the training costs for players
for the seasons between their 12th and 15th birthdays (i.e. four seasons) shall be
based on the training and education costs of category 4 clubs. Equally, the
Chamber referred to the second sentence of art. 5 par. 3 of Annexe 4 of the
Regulations which states that the aforementioned exception shall not be
applicable where the event giving rise to the right to training compensation
occurs before the end of the season of the player’s 18th birthday.
13.
In this context, the Chamber wished to refer to FIFA Circular no. 1190 dated 20
May 2009 by means of which the members of FIFA were, inter alia, informed
about the amended art. 5 par. 3 of Annexe 4, which came into force on 1
October 2009. Said FIFA Circular indicated that art. 5 par. 3 of Annexe 4 “now
stipulates that where the event giving rise to the right to training compensation
occurs before the end of the season of the player's 18th birthday, the training
costs for players for the seasons between their 12th and 15th birthdays (i.e. four
seasons) shall no longer be based on the training and education costs of
category 4 clubs, but on the category of the new club.”
14.
Against this background, in particular since the aforementioned amendment of
the pertinent article of Annexe 4 of the Regulations only came into force on 1
October 2009, the Chamber found that it cannot apply said amendment to the
years of training and education of the player prior to the coming into force of
the amended art. 5 par. 3 of Annexe 4, i.e. prior to 1 October 2009. In other
words, the Chamber concurred that the said provision could not be applied
retro-actively and, consequently, decided that the second sentence of art. 5 par.
3 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations does not apply to the season 2008/2009, as
well as the season 2009/2010 until 1 October 2009, during which the player was
registered with the Claimant.
15.
Having established the above, the Chamber recalled that the player was born
on 26 January 1997 and was registered with the Claimant as from 8 October
2004 until 19 September 2010.
16.
Equally, the DRC recalled that the Single Judge of the Players’ Status Committee
decided on 8 October 2013 to authorize the provisional registration of the
Training compensation in connection with the Player E
(Club A, Country B / Club C, Country D)
5/8
player with the Respondent as of 9 October 2013 and that the Respondent
confirmed that the player was registered with it on 18 October 2013.
17.
On account of the above and in accordance with art. 20 in combination with
Annexe 4 of the Regulations, the DRC considered that the Claimant is, thus,
entitled to receive training compensation for the period as from 1 July 2008 until
19 September 2010, i.e. for the full seasons of 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 (seasons
of the player’s 12th and 13th birthday), and 3 months of the 2010/2011 season
(season of the player’s 14th birthday).
18.
In view of all of the above, the DRC held that, in principle, the Respondent is
liable to pay the amount of EUR 102,500 to the Claimant as training
compensation in relation to the registration of the player with the Respondent.
Said amount is calculated as follows: i) EUR 10,000 for the 2008/2009 season, ii)
EUR 70,000 for the 2009/2010 season, and iii) EUR 22,500 for the 2010/2011
season.
19.
In this respect, the DRC recalled that the Claimant had already received the
amount of EUR 99,808 from the Respondent.
20.
As a consequence, the DRC decided to partially accept the claim of the Claimant
and held that the Respondent is liable to pay the remaining amount of EUR
2,692 to the Claimant as training compensation in relation to the registration of
the player with the Respondent.
21.
Moreover, taking into account the Claimant’s claim, the DRC decided that the
Respondent has to pay interest of 5% p.a. over the amount payable as training
compensation as from 18 November 2013 until the date of effective payment.
22.
Lastly, the Chamber 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 relating to disputes regarding training compensation, costs in
the maximum amount of CHF 25’000 are levied. It is further stipulated 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.
23.
In respect of the above, the Chamber held that the amount to be taken into
consideration in the present proceedings is EUR 96,465.45 related to the claim
of the Claimant. Consequently, the Chamber concluded that the maximum
amount of costs of the proceedings corresponds to CHF 15,000 (cf. table in
Annexe A).
Training compensation in connection with the Player E
(Club A, Country B / Club C, Country D)
6/8
24.
As a result, and taking into account the particularities of the present matter as
well as the degree of success, the Chamber determined the costs of the current
proceedings to the amount of CHF 10,000, of which CHF 8,000 shall be borne by
the Claimant and CHF 2,000 by the Respondent.
III.
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the Claimant, Club A, is partially accepted.
2.
The Respondent, Club C, has to pay to the Claimant, within 30 days as from
the date of notification of this decision, the amount of EUR 2,692 plus 5%
interest p.a. on said amount as of 18 November 2013 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.
Any further claim lodged by the Claimant is rejected.
5.
The final costs of the proceedings in the amount of CHF 10,000 are to be paid
within 30 days as from the date of notification of the present decision, as
follows:
5.1. The amount of CHF 2,000 has to be paid by the Respondent.
5.2. The amount of CHF 8,000 has to be paid by the Claimant. Given that the
Claimant has already paid the amount of CHF 3,000 as advance of costs
at the start of the present proceedings, the additional amount of CHF
5,000 has to be paid by the Claimant to FIFA.
5.3. The above-mentioned amounts have to be paid to FIFA to the following
bank account:
UBS Zurich
Account number 366.677.01U (FIFA Players’ Status)
Clearing number 230
IBAN: CH27 0023 0230 3666 7701U
SWIFT: UBSWCHZH80A.
6.
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
Training compensation in connection with the Player E
(Club A, Country B / Club C, Country D)
7/8
made and to notify the Dispute Resolution Chamber of every payment
received.
*****
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:
Jérôme Valcke
Secretary General
Enclosed: CAS directives
Training compensation in connection with the Player E
(Club A, Country B / Club C, Country D)
8/8