Training Compensation
Texto da decisão
Decision of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 26 November 2009,
in the following composition:
Slim Aloulou (Tunisia), Chairman
Michele Colucci (Italy), member
Carlos Soto (Chile), member
Ivan Gazidis (England), member
Damir Vrbanovic (Croatia), member
on a matter between the club
V,
as Claimant
and the club
B,
as Respondent
regarding a training compensation dispute related to the transfer
of the player M.
I.
Facts of the case
1.
The Football Federation X confirmed that the player, M (hereinafter: the player),
born on 22 January 1988, was registered with its affiliated club V (hereinafter also
referred to as: the Claimant) as from 10 July 2000 until 30 June 2001 and from 10
September 2002 until 24 August 2006 as an amateur. The player passport issued by
the Football Federation X does not mention any registration of the player with
any club during the season 2001/2002. According to the Football Federation X, the
player did not request his registration with any of its affiliated clubs and he was
not transferred internationally.
2.
The Football Federation X confirmed that the club V belongs to category IV.
3.
The football season in X lasts from 1 July until 30 June of the following year.
4.
On 25 August 2006, the player was registered with the B, (hereinafter referred to
as: the Respondent) as a professional.
5.
The Football Association Y confirmed that the Respondent belonged to category
III.
6.
On 10 June 2008, the Claimant contacted FIFA asking for the payment of training
compensation from the Respondent on the basis that the player had allegedly
signed his first professional contract with the Respondent.
7.
The Claimant requested the payment of EUR 110,000 as training compensation.
8.
FIFA invited, on two occasions, the Respondent to provide its position with regard
to the claim lodged by the Claimant. However, the Respondent did not provide
such position.
9.
Upon request of FIFA with regard to the prerequisites stipulated in art. 6 par. 3 of
the Annexe 4 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, Football
Federation X stated that V is an amateur club and that, consequently, it is not able
to conclude professional contracts with players.
2
II.
Considerations of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
First of all, the Dispute Resolution Chamber analysed whether it was competent to
deal with the case at hand. In this respect, the Chamber first referred to art. 21
par. 1 and 2 of the Rules Governing the Procedures of the Players’ Status
Committee and the Dispute Resolution Chamber (edition 2008). The present
matter was submitted to FIFA on 10 June 2008, thus before the aforementioned
Procedural Rules entered into force on 1 July 2008. Therefore, the Dispute
Resolution Chamber concluded that the 2005 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. 18
par. 2 and 3 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
connection with art. 22 lit. d) of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of
Players (edition 2008), the Dispute Resolution Chamber is competent to decide on
the present litigation concerning the training compensation between clubs
belonging to different associations for the training and education of the player M.
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, the Chamber referred, on the one hand, to art. 26 par. 1
and 2 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (edition 2009) and,
on the other hand, to the fact that the present claim was lodged on 10 June 2008
and that the player was registered for the Respondent on 25 August 2006. In view
of the aforementioned, the Dispute Resolution Chamber concluded that the 2005
edition of the Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players (hereinafter: the
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 members of the Chamber started by acknowledging the facts of the case as
well as the documentation contained in the file.
5.
First and foremost, the Chamber stated that, as established in art. 1 par. 1 of
Annex 4 in combination with art. 2 of Annex 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.
6.
The Chamber recalled that the player, born on 22 January 1988, was registered for
the Claimant as an amateur from 10 July 2000 until 30 June 2001 and from 10
September 2002 until 24 August 2006, i.e. during the season of the player’s 13th
3
birthday and the seasons comprehended between his 15th and 19th birthdays.
Furthermore, the Chamber duly noted that according to a statement of the
Football Federation X, the player was not registered with any X clubs, nor was he
transferred internationally, during the period comprehended between 1 July 2001
and 9 September 2002.
7.
In continuation, the Dispute Resolution Chamber duly noted that, on the one
hand, the Claimant is requesting training compensation for the training and
education of the player from the Respondent in the amount of EUR 110,000.
8.
On the other hand, the Chamber took due note that the Respondent never took
position in the dispute, despite having been asked to do so by the FIFA
administration. Thus, the Chamber deemed that the Respondent had renounced to
its right to defence and had accepted the allegations presented by the Claimant.
9.
Having stated the aforementioned, the Chamber referred, in particular, to art. 6 of
Annex 4 of the Regulations, which contains special provisions regarding players
moving from one Association to another one inside the territory of the European
Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA). In this regard, the Chamber stated
that, as the player moved from X to the Y, i.e. between two countries of the EU,
art. 6 par. 3 of Annex 4 of the Regulations is applicable to the case at hand as lex
specialis.
10.
In view of the above, the members of the Chamber underlined that art. 6 par. 3
sent. 1 of Annex 4 of the Regulations provides that if the former club of the player
does not offer the player a contract, no training compensation is payable unless
the former club can justify that it is entitled to such compensation. In this respect,
the members of the Chamber noted that, in casu, according to a statement of the
Football Federation X, the Claimant, being a purely amateur club, did not have the
capacity to sign any kind of employment contract with football players.
11.
As a consequence, the members of the Chamber established that the Claimant
had, in the sense of art. 6 par. 3 of Annex 4 of the Regulations, sufficiently
justified that it was indeed entitled to claim training compensation for the
training and education offered to the player, M.
12.
In view of the above, and given that the player had always been registered as an
amateur prior to his registration with the Respondent, the Chamber concluded
that the player was registered as a professional for the first time with the
Respondent. In this regard, the Dispute Resolution Chamber recalled the provisions
set out under art. 20 of the Regulations and art. 2 and art. 3 of Annex 4 of the
4
Regulations regarding training compensation, and ruled that the Respondent is
liable to pay training compensation to the Claimant.
13.
In continuation, and having fully established the Claimant’s entitlement to
training compensation, the Chamber proceeded to the calculation of the relevant
amount of training compensation. In this respect, it acknowledged the fact that
the player in question was born on 22 January 1988 and had been registered with
the Claimant from 10 July 2000 until 30 June 2001 and from 10 September 2002
until 24 August 2006, and that the X football season ran, during the relevant
seasons, from 1 July to 30 June of the following year.
14.
As a result and considering art. 3 par. 1 of Annex 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, the Dispute Resolution
Chamber concluded that the effective period of time to be considered in the
matter at stake corresponds to the period comprehended between 10 July 2000 to
30 June 2001 and from 10 September 2002 to 24 August 2006, i.e. during the
entire season 2000/2001, the seasons 2002/2003 to 2005/2006 and two months of
the season 2006/2007, and that the relevant seasons are the player’s 13th and 15th
to 19th birthdays.
15.
Turning its attention to the calculation of training compensation, the Dispute
Resolution Chamber deemed fundamental to recall the specific provisions of art. 5
par. 3 of Annexe 4 of the Regulations, according to which, “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”.
16.
In view of the above, the Chamber decided that the training costs for the
2000/2001 and 2002/2003 seasons, i.e. the seasons of the player’s 13th and 15th
birthdays, respectively, were indeed to be based on the training and education
costs of a category 4 club.
17.
In this respect, the Chamber recalled that according to FIFA circular letter no. 959
dated 16 March 2005, the indicative amount per season for a category 4 club
within Z was of EUR 10,000.
18.
In continuation and turning their attention to the 2003-2004 season and the
following seasons, the Chamber was eager to underline, as previously mentioned
(cf. point II. 9), that the provisions of art. 6 of Annex 4 of the Regulations are
applicable to the case at hand as lex specialis, and, in this regard, recalled that,
5
according to art. 6 par. 1 lit. a) of Annexe 4 of the Regulations, “For players
moving from one Association to another inside the territory of the EU/EEA, the
amount of Training Compensation payable shall be established based on the
following:
a) If a player moves from a lower to a higher category club, the calculation shall be
based on the average training costs of the two clubs”.
19.
In this respect, the Chamber recalled that the Respondent was a category 3 club,
while the Claimant was a category 4 club, as a result of which the indicative
amount per season should be calculated on the basis of the average between EUR
30,000 and EUR 10,000 (cf. FIFA circular letter no. 959 dated 16 March 2005).
20.
In view of the applicable provisions and of the facts of the present case, and
having proceeded to the relevant calculation in view of the dates of registration of
the player with the Claimant, the members of the Chamber decided that the
Claimant is entitled to receive training compensation from the Respondent in the
amount of EUR 81,666.
21.
Thus, in view of all of the above, the Dispute Resolution Chamber decided that the
claim of the Claimant is partially accepted.
III.
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the Claimant, V, is partially accepted.
2.
The Respondent, B, has to pay to the Claimant, V, the amount of EUR 81,866,
within 30 days as from the date of notification of this decision.
3.
Any further claims lodged by the Claimant, V, are rejected.
4.
If the aforementioned sum is not paid within the aforementioned deadline, an
interest rate of 5% per year will apply as of expiring of the fixed time limit and
the present matter shall be submitted upon the party’s request to FIFA’s
Disciplinary Committee so that the necessary disciplinary sanctions may be
imposed.
5.
The Claimant, V, is directed to inform the Respondent, B, 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.
6
*****
Note relating to the motivated decision (legal remedy):
According to art. 63 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
7