Training Compensation
Texto da decisão
Decision of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 30 November 2007,
in the following composition:
Slim Aloulou (Tunisia), Chairman
Mario Gallavotti (Italy), Member
Zola Majavu (South Africa), Member
Michele Colucci (Italy), Member
Rinaldo Martorelli (Brazil), Member
on the claim presented by the club,
X, Xx,
as “Claimant”
against the club,
Y, Yy,
as “Respondent”
regarding a training compensation dispute related to the
transfer of the player R.
I.
Facts of the case
1.
The Xxn Football Federation confirmed that the player R, born on 3 June 1987,
was registered with its member club, X (hereinafter: the Claimant), as from 23 July
1997 until 11 July 2006 between the ages of 10 and 19 as an amateur. Moreover,
the said Federation confirmed that its football season runs from 1 July until 30
June of the following year.
2.
On 3 October 2006, the ..Xxn Football Federation contacted FIFA on behalf of its
affiliate, the Claimant, and requested the payment of training compensation from
the Yyn club, Y (hereinafter: the Respondent), in accordance with the relevant
applicable FIFA Regulations. The ..Xxn Football Federation explained that it issued
on 18 July 2006 the International Transfer Certificate for the player in question in
favour of the Football Association of Yy. The status of the player at that time was
amateur.
3.
The Respondent, in reply to the claim, informed that it signed on 1 July 2006 a
contract with the player in question. After four months, it became evident that
the player was physically impaired, which originate from a congenital curtailment
of his leg, the existence of which he concealed at the time of signing the
employment contract.
4.
Due to the fact that the player played only 35 minutes for the Respondent, the
latter requests that such circumstances must be taken into account when
determining the amount due as training compensation.
5.
Furthermore, the Respondent maintains having carried out several discussions
with the Claimant in order to find an amicable solution with regard to the amount
due as training compensation.
6.
The Claimant remained of its conviction to be entitled to receive training
compensation from the Respondent.
7.
Moreover, the Claimant provided FIFA with correspondence it exchanged with the
Respondent whereby they tried to find an amicable solution.
8.
However, the parties could not reach an amicable solution. Therefore, the
Claimant requested the present case to be submitted to the Dispute Resolution
Chamber.
9.
Finally, the Respondent submitted a proposal which is to wait until the next
transfer of the player and that the received transfer compensation could then be
divided between the two parties.
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Training Compensation for the player R
(Club X, Xx / Club Y, Yy)
10.
The Respondent is a category 3 club, according to the information provided by the
Football Association of Yy.
II.
Considerations of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
First of all, the Chamber analysed whether it was competent to deal with the
matter at stake. In this respect, it referred to art. 18 par. 2 and 3 of the Rules
Governing the Procedures of the Players’ Status Committee and the Dispute
Resolution Chamber. The present matter was submitted to FIFA on 3 October
2006, as a consequence the Chamber concluded that the revised Rules Governing
Procedures (edition 2005) on matters pending before the decision making bodies
of FIFA are applicable to the matter at hand.
2.
With regard to the competence of the Chamber, art. 3 par. 1 of the abovementioned Rules states that the Dispute Resolution Chamber shall examine its
jurisdiction in the light of art. 22 to 24 of the Regulations for the Status and
Transfer of Players (edition 2005). In accordance with art. 24 par. 1 in combination
with art. 22 (d) of the Regulations 2005, the Dispute Resolution Chamber shall
adjudicate on disputes between two clubs belonging to different Associations
related to training compensation.
3.
As a consequence, the Dispute Resolution Chamber is the competent body to
decide on the present litigation concerning the training compensation claimed by
the Claimant for the training and education of the player R.
4.
Subsequently, the members of the Chamber analyzed which edition of the
Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players should be applicable as to the
substance of the matter. In this respect, the Chamber referred to art. 26 par. 1 and
2 of the Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players (edition 2005) in
accordance with the FIFA circular no. 995, dated 23 September 2005. Furthermore,
it acknowledged that the professional had been registered for his new club, the
Respondent, in July 2006. Equally the Chamber took note that the claim of the
Claimant was lodged at FIFA on 3 October 2006. In view of the aforementioned,
the Chamber concluded that the 2005 edition of the FIFA Regulations for the
Status and Transfer of Players is applicable on the case at hand as to the
substance.
5.
In continuation, and entering into the substance of the matter, the members of
the Chamber exposed that, as established in art. 2 of the Annex 4 of the
Regulations, training compensation for a player’s training and education is
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Training Compensation for the player R
(Club X, Xx / Club Y, Yy)
payable by the new club either when the player is registered for the first time as a
Professional or when a Professional is transferred between clubs of two different
Associations before the end of the season of his 23rd birthday.
6.
In this respect, the members of the Chamber started by acknowledging the
Claimant’s claim for training compensation based on the years it trained and
educated the player in question. To this end, the members of the Chamber took
note of the confirmation from the Xxn Football Federation according to which the
player in question was registered with the Claimant always as an amateur as from
23 July 1997 until 11 July 2006.
7.
Furthermore, the Chamber affirmed that it is undisputed and both parties agreed
that the player signed his first Professional contract with the Respondent on 1 July
2006.
8.
At this stage, the deciding body deemed it appropriate to analyze the statements
of the Respondent based on which it refused to pay to the Claimant the relevant
training compensation.
9.
In particular, the members of the Chamber analyzed the Respondent’s statement
that after four months only it became evident that the player was physically
impaired and that the player therefore played only 35 minutes for the
Respondent’s team. From the Respondent’s point of view, these circumstance must
be taken into account when determining the amount possibly due as training
compensation.
10.
In view of the above-mentioned arguments raised by the Respondent, the
Chamber concluded that the justifications of the Respondent have no legal
grounds and are in fact not relevant for this dispute and therefore they do not
affect the Claimant’s right to receive training compensation for the training and
education provided to the player R.
11.
In addition to that, the Chamber deemed it important to particularly emphasize
that, without intending to anyhow underestimate the circumstances occurred on
the player, the obligation of the Respondent to pay training compensation to the
Claimant became due at the latest within 30 days following the registration of the
player with the relevant club (cf. art. 3 par. 2 of the Annex 4 of the Regulations),
thus prior to the four month deadline after the player’s apparent physical
impairment became evident. Besides, the Chamber was of the opinion that the
difficult situation for the player and the Respondent should not lead to
disadvantages and a loss of the pertinent rights of the Claimant.
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Training Compensation for the player R
(Club X, Xx / Club Y, Yy)
12.
Having established the Claimant’s principal entitlement to received training
compensation from the Respondent, the members of the Chamber went on to
deliberate on the proper calculation of this compensation, affirming that the
amount shall be calculated in accordance with the parameters provided by the
Regulations.
13.
In this respect, first of all, it was recalled that, as a general rule, outside the
EU/EEA, compensation for training is based on the training and education costs of
the country of the new club multiplied by the number of years the player spent
training with the club.
14.
In accordance with art. 5 par. 2 of the Annex 4 of the Regulations, the training
period to be taken into account for the calculation of the training compensation
starts at the beginning of the season of the player’s 12th birthday and finishes, as a
general rule, at the end of the season of the player’s 21st birthday.
15.
In this respect, the Chamber acknowledged that, according to the relevant player
passport, the player R, born on 3 June 1987, was registered with the Claimant as
an amateur from 23 July 1997 until 11 July 2006.
16.
Moreover, in accordance with art. 5 par. 3 of the Annex 4 of the Regulations, the
amount payable for the training of players for the seasons between his 12th and
15th birthday (i.e. four seasons) shall be based on the training and education costs
for category 4. Within the Union des associations européennes de football (UEFA)
that is an indicative amount of EUR 10,000 per year of training.
17.
In light of the above, the Chamber stated that the training period to be taken into
consideration in the matter at stake started with the sporting season 1998/1999
until the end of the season 2005/2006.
18.
In light of all of the above, the Chamber decided that the Claimant is entitled to
training compensation for the period of 4 seasons (season 1998/1999 until the
season 2001/2002) while taking into consideration an indicative amount for
category 4 in the UEFA of EUR 10,000 per year and four entire seasons (season
2002/2003 until 2005/2006) while considering an indicative amount of EUR 30,000,
i.e. category 3 in the UEFA (cf. both the indicative amounts FIFA Circular no. 959,
dated 16 March 2005).
19.
Taking into account all of the above, the Dispute Resolution Chamber decided
that the Respondent must pay to the Claimant the amount of EUR 160,000 for the
training of the player R.
5
Training Compensation for the player R
(Club X, Xx / Club Y, Yy)
III.
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim lodged by the Claimant, X, is accepted.
2.
The Respondent, Y, shall pay the amount of EUR 160,000 to the Claimant, X,
within 30 days following the date of the notification of the present decision.
3.
In the event that the above-mentioned amount is not paid within the stated
deadline, an interest rate of 5% per year will apply as of expiry of the abovementioned deadline and the present matter shall be submitted to FIFA’s
Disciplinary Committee, so that the necessary disciplinary sanctions may be
imposed.
4.
The Claimant, X, is instructed to inform the Respondent, Y, directly and
immediately of the account number to which the remittance is to be made and to
notify the Dispute Resolution Chamber of every payment received.
5.
According to art. 61 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:
Château de Béthusy
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
General Secretary
Encl.
CAS directives
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Training Compensation for the player R
(Club X, Xx / Club Y, Yy)