Labour Disputes
Texto da decisão
Decis ion of the
Dis pute Res olution Cham ber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 15 November 2018,
in the following composition:
Geoff Thom ps on (England), Chairman
Roy Verm eer (The Netherlands ), member
Johan v an Gaalen (S outh Africa), member
Wouter Lam brecht (Belgium ), member
Pav el Piv ov arov (Rus s ia), 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 22 January 2018, 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), signed
an employment contract (hereinafter: the contract) valid as from 22 January 2018 until 31
May 2018.
2. According to art. 5 of the contract, the Claimant was entitled, inter alia, to receive from
the Respondent the total amount of EUR 135,000; amount payable as follows:
“35.000-Euros of the above mentioned amount has to be paid on 22nd January 2018.
(Official Contract Signing Date)
The rest of the aforementioned amount is to be paid to the [Claimant] by the
[Respondent] in 4 (four) equal instalments on the below mentioned dates:
1.
2.
3.
4.
25.000 Euros
25.000 Euros
25.000 Euros
25.000 Euros
31st January 2018
28th February 2018
31st March 2018
30th April 2018”
3. Furthermore, art. 5 of the contract established that the Claimant would be entitled to
receive several bonuses, inter alia, the following:
“If the [Claimant] scores or assists 5 times, he will earn 5.000 Euros”.
4. Allegedly, on 16 April 2018, the player put the club in default of payment of EUR 75,000
Euros, amount corresponding to the instalments due in: January 2018, February 2018 and
March 2018.
5. On 28 May 2018, the Claimant lodged a claim against the Respondent before FIFA
requesting outstanding remuneration. In his request for relief, the Claimant requested the
total amount of EUR 105,999.99; amount broken down as follows:
-
EUR 100,000 corresponding to the 4 instalments due in: January 2018, February 2018,
March 2018 and April 2018 respectively;
-
EUR 999.99 as default interest, broken down by the player as follows:
Player A, Country B / Club C, Country D
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DATE OF PAYMENT
31st January 2018
28th February 2018
31st March 2018
30th April 2018
-
AMOUNT
25,000.00 Euros
25,000.00 Euros
25,000.00 Euros
25,000.00 Euros
“Accrued interest until the
date of case action, 28th
May 2018 (Default
interest) (%5 p.a.)”
400,68 Euros
304,79 Euros
198,63 Euros
95,89 Euros
EUR 5,000 as bonus for having scored 3 goals and assisted 2 times during the season.
6. In his claim, the Claimant explained that the Respondent failed to pay him EUR 100,000
corresponding to 4 salaries. Moreover, the Claimant held that he is entitled to receive the
bonus in the contract since he scored 3 times and assisted 2 times “in [the] last season”.
Furthermore, the Claimant deemed to be entitled to interest as of the due dates “until the
starting date of case action”.
7. In its reply to the claim, the Respondent rejected the player´s claim. In this regard, the
Respondent alleged that it “couldn’t find any sponsor this year, but on the other hand the
club declares that all problems will be solved and all debts will be paid”. Furthermore, the
Respondent stressed that it “did not receive any fax or any notification from the player”.
8. Moreover, the Respondent declared that: “We would like to indicate that there isn´t a
violation of the club until 2014. Also this case is a debt claim and the contract has not been
terminated. The club was almost closed in 2016 and a new management has been formed
in July 2016 and the new management has been restructured all the debts of the club.
There were 27 cases of [the club] at FIFA and 24 of these cases were paid and closed, [the
club] is paying the instalments of the 3 remaining cases”.
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 28 May 2018.
Consequently, the Rules Governing the Procedures of the Players’ Status Committee and
the Dispute Resolution Chamber (2018 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
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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 (2018 edition), and
considering that the present claim was lodged on 28 May 2018, the 2018 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 22 January 2018 until 31 May 2018, in accordance
with which the Claimant was entitled to receive from the Respondent, inter alia, the
following amounts:
a. EUR 35,000 payable on 22 January 2018;
b. EUR 100,000 payable in four instalments of EUR 25,000 each, due on 31 January
2018, 28 February 2018, 31 March 2018 and 30 April 2018, respectively;
c. EUR 5,000 if the Claimant “scores or assists 5 times”.
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 EUR 100,000,
corresponding to the instalments of January, February, March and April, all 2018, in the
amount of USD 25,000 each. Moreover, the DRC took note that the Claimant requested
the amount of EUR 999.99 as default interest in connection with the aforementioned
monthly instalments, limiting the interest due until the date in which the claim was
lodged, i.e. 28 May 2018. Furthermore, the Claimant requested a bonus in the amount of
EUR 5,000 for having scored 3 goals and assisted 2 times during the term of the contract.
The DRC further noted that the Claimant enclosed documentation in order to support
his allegation regarding his entitlement to receive the bonus.
7.
On the other hand, the Chamber took note that the Respondent, in its reply to the
claim, argued that it could not find any sponsor and that all debts would be paid. In this
regard, the DRC considered that the arguments raised by the Respondent cannot be
considered a valid reason for non-payment of the amounts claimed by the Claimant, in
Player A, Country B / Club C, Country D
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other words, the reasons brought forward by the Respondent in its defence do not
exempt the Respondent from its obligation to fulfil its contractual obligations towards
the Claimant.
8.
Consequently, the DRC decided to reject the argumentation put forward by the
Respondent in its defense.
9.
In view of all the above, the DRC established that, in accordance with the general
legal principle of pacta sunt servanda, the Respondent is liable to pay to the claimant
outstanding remuneration in the total amount of EUR 105,999.99 corresponding to
the following concepts:
-
USD 100,000 corresponding to four equal instalments of USD 25,000 each, which
were due on 31 January 2018, 28 February 2018, 31 March 2018 and 30 April
2018, respectively.
-
USD 999.99 as interest of 5% p.a. on each of the four equal instalments as of
the day following the day on which the relevant payments fell due, until the
date in which the claim was lodged, i.e. 28 May 2018. The latter calculation
was accepted by the Chamber, since the Claimant limitated the interest due
until the day in which the claim was lodged.
-
USD 5,000 as bonus for having scored 3 goals and assisted 2 times during the
relevant season. In this regard, the DRC took note that the Claimant had
substantiated his claim pertaining to his entitlement to receive the bonus with
sufficient documentary evidence in accordance with art. 12 par. 3 of the
Procedural Rules. The Chamber further noted that the Claimant’s entitlement to
the said bonus remained uncontested by the Respondent.
10.
In conclusion, for all the above reasons, the Chamber decided to accept the Claimant’s
claim.
III.
Decis ion of the Dis pute Res olution Cham ber
1.
The claim of the Claimant, Player 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, outstanding remuneration in the amount of EUR 105,999.99.
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.
Player A, Country B / Club C, Country D
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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.
*****
Note relating to the m otiv ated decis ion (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
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
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