Labour Disputes
Texto da decisão
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 9 November 2004,
in the following composition:
Slim Aloulou (Tunisia), Chairman
Philippe Piat (France), member
Philippe Diallo (France), member
on the claim presented by
the player, X, Ghana,
as Claimant
against
the club Y, Tunisia,
as Respondent
regarding a contractual dispute between the player and the club,
Facts of the case
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The parties involved signed an employment contract valid for one season until 30 June
2003.
The contract does not include any date of signature.
According to this contract, the player is entitled to a monthly salary of TND 2,000, a
signing-on fee of TND 10,000 as well as non-specified bonuses.
The contract does not indicate any date on which the signing-on fee falls due.
Furthermore, the player is entitled to receive furnished lodging and three air tickets
Tunis-Accra-Tunis.
On 27 May 2003, the player turned to FIFA claiming that he signed an employment
contract with the Tunisian club valid for six months, that is, from January 2003 until the
end of June 2003, and that the club failed to pay his salaries to the amount of TND 9,000.
This amount relates to TND 1,000 for January 2003 and to the player’s salaries for March,
April, May and June 2003.
In addition, according to the player, he was forced by the club to leave his
accommodation in May 2003 and the club gave him three air tickets in order to return to
Ghana with his family.
He maintains having decided to stay in Tunisia since the club allegedly still owed him the
above-mentioned amount of money.
The club, for its part, maintains that the player has not fulfilled his obligations contained
in article 5(a) of the employment contract and article 7(12) of the internal club
regulations.
The said article 5(a) stipulates that the player shall participate in all different kinds of
activities of the club.
According to the club, in the light of the above, a fine to the amount of TND 12,000 was
inflicted upon the player.
This fine has been specified by the club as follows: TND 8,000 for the player’s alleged
absence from 4 official encounters in the period from 13 April 2003 to 25 May 2003, TND
1,400 for his alleged absence from 7 training sessions in April 2003 and TND 3,000 for
his alleged absence from 15 training sessions in May 2003.
The club affirms having complied with its contractual obligations until the player’s
refusal to participate in the club’s activities.
The Tunisian club has not submitted any supporting documentation along with its reply
to the player’s claim, even after having been invited by the FIFA administration to do so.
The player vehemently rejects the club’s accusations.
The player claims payment of the amount of TND 9,000 as well as of his air ticket to
return to Ghana.
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Considerations of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
The members of the Dispute Resolution Chamber were summoned to pass a decision on this
matter by the Chairman pursuant to Art. 1 point 6) of the Rules Governing the Practice and
Procedures of the Dispute Resolution Chamber.
The members of the Chamber firstly proceeded to confirm that in accordance with Article 42
of the FIFA Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players (edition September 2001) the
Chamber is competent to deal with the present matter.
The Chamber acknowledged that the player’s claim pertains to the non-payment of his
salaries from March 2003 until June 2003 as well as the non-payment of half of his salary for
January 2003.
In response, the club has indicated that the player has failed to fulfil his contractual
obligations and that a fine amounting to TND 12,000 was inflicted upon X for that reason.
However, the Chamber noted that the club has not presented any documentary evidence
pertaining to these allegations, even after having been invited by the FIFA administration to
do so. The player, for his part, vehemently rejects the allegations put forward by the Tunisian
club. For these reasons, the Chamber decided that the club’s argument in this regard cannot
be taken into account.
Furthermore, the Chamber noticed that according to Y it has fully complied with its
contractual obligations until the moment when the player allegedly refused to participate in
the club’s activities. It was also noted that according to the Tunisian club the player was
absent as from 13 April 2003. From this statement, the Chamber deduced that Y implicitly
declares that all salaries until April 2003 were duly paid to the player. However, Y has failed
to provide documentary evidence demonstrating that the outstanding salary for January
2003 (half of the monthly amount only, i.e. TND 1,000) and for March 2003 (TND 2,000) have
been duly remitted to X.
In the light of the above, the Chamber decided that it must reject the arguments put forward
by Y in its defence.
The player having confirmed that he received air tickets in order for him and his family to
return to Ghana, the Chamber decided that it must reject the player’s claim pertaining to
payment of an air ticket.
Taking into consideration all of the above, the members of the Chamber decided that X is
entitled to receive the outstanding amount of TND 9,000.
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Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the Claimant, X, is partially accepted.
2.
The Respondent, Y, has to pay the amount of TND 9,000 to the Claimant.
3.
The amount due to the Claimant has to be paid by the Respondent within 30 days as
from the date of notification of this decision.
4.
In the event that the debt of the Tunisian club is not paid within the stated deadline,
an interest rate of 5% per year will apply as of expiry of the aforementioned deadline.
5.
If the sum of TND 9,000 is not paid within the aforementioned deadline, the present
matter shall be submitted to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, so that the necessary
disciplinary sanctions may be imposed.
6.
According to art. 60 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 10 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:
Avenue de l’Elysée 28
1006 Lausanne
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:
Urs Linsi
General Secretary
Enclosed: CAS directives
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