Solidarity Contribution
Texto da decisão
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 12 December 2013,
in the following composition:
Geoff Thompson (England), Chairman
Johan van Gaalen (South Africa), member
Eirik Monsen (Norway), member
Theodore Giannikos (Greece), member
Todd Durbin (USA), member
on the claim presented by the club,
P, from country F
as Claimant
against the club,
S, from country C
as Respondent
regarding solidarity contribution in connection with the transfer
of the player A
I.
Facts of the case
1.
According to the player passport issued by the F Football Federation, the player, A
(hereinafter: player), born on 24 March 1979, was registered with the country F
club, P (hereinafter: Claimant) as follows:
o As from 29 June 1992 until 14 June 1994;
o As from 25 July 1995 until 28 February 1997;
o As from 21 July 2000 until 20 December 2001.
2.
The football season in country F starts on 1 July and ends on 30 June of the
following year.
3.
The player was transferred from the country E club, X, to the country C club, S
(hereinafter: Respondent), on the occasion of which, according to the Transfer
Matching System (TMS), the parties agreed upon a transfer compensation of EUR
500,000, payable by the Respondent to club X until 31 December 2011.
4.
The C Football Association confirmed that the player was registered with its
affiliated club, S, on 20 February 2012.
5.
On 18 March 2013, the Claimant lodged a claim against the Respondent in front of
FIFA claiming its proportion of the solidarity contribution in connection with the
transfer of the player from club X to the Respondent. In particular, the Claimant
requests 50% of the 5% solidarity contribution or EUR 12,500.
6.
In reply to the claim, the Respondent does not deny that it owes solidarity
contribution payments to the Claimant and merely pointed out that the Claimant
had ignored its previous correspondence.
7.
After the parties had been given the opportunity to amicably settle the present
matter in view of the above position, the Claimant finally reverted to FIFA
indicating that no payment had been received from the Respondent.
Solidarity contribution in connection with the player A
(Club P from country, F / Club S, from country C)
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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, the Chamber took note that the present matter was submitted to FIFA on
18 March 2013. Consequently, the Rules governing the procedures of the Players’
Status Committee and the Dispute Resolution Chamber (edition 2012; hereinafter:
Procedural Rules) are applicable to the matter at hand (cf. art. 21 par. 1 and par. 2
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 conjunction
with art. 22 lit. d) of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (edition
2012), the Dispute Resolution Chamber is competent to decide on the present
matter, which concerns a dispute relating to the solidarity mechanism between
clubs belonging to different associations.
3.
Furthermore, the DRC 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 members referred, on the one hand, to art. 26 par. 1 and 2 of the
Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (edition 2012) and, on the other
hand, to the fact that the present claim was lodged on 18 March 2013 and that the
player was registered with the Respondent on 20 February 2012. In view of the
aforementioned, the Chamber confirmed that the 2010 edition of the Regulations
on the Status and Transfer of Players (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 submitted by the parties. 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.
In this respect, the DRC noted that the Claimant claimed the payment of the
amount of EUR 12,500 as solidarity contribution from the Respondent,
corresponding to 50% of the 5% of the total transfer compensation.
6.
In addition to the above, and referring to art. 6 par. 3 of Annexe 3 of the
Regulations, the Chamber took into account that according to the information
contained in the TMS, club X and the Respondent agreed upon a transfer
compensation of EUR 500,000.
Solidarity contribution in connection with the player A
(Club P from country, F / Club S, from country C)
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7.
Furthermore, the DRC noted that the Respondent, for its part, has not contested the
Claimant’s claim and merely alleged that the Claimant had not responded to its
correspondence.
8.
Having established the above, the Chamber referred to art. 21 in combination with
art. 1 of Annexe 5 of the Regulations which stipulate that, if a professional moves
during the course of a contract, 5% of any compensation, not including training
compensation paid to his former club, shall be deducted from the total amount of
this compensation and be distributed by the new club as a solidarity contribution to
the club(s) involved in the training and education of the player between the seasons
of his 12th and 23rd birthday.
9.
In this respect, the DRC recalled that the F Football Federation had confirmed that
the player, born on 24 March 1979, was registered with the Claimant during the
following periods of time: as from 29 June 1992 until 14 June 1994, as from 25 July
1995 until 28 February 1997, and as from 21 July 2000 until 20 December 2001.
10.
On account of the above and in accordance with art. 1 of Annexe 5 of the
Regulations, the DRC considered that the Claimant is, thus, entitled to receive
solidarity contribution for the periods as from 29 June 1992 until 14 June 1994, as
from 25 July 1995 until 28 February 1997, and as from 21 July 2000 until 20
December 2001, i.e. for 12 months of the season of the player’s 14th birthday, for 11
months of the season of the player’s 15th and 17th birthday, for 8 months of the
season of the player’s 18th birthday, for 11 months of the season of the player’s 22nd
birthday, and for 6 months of the season of the player’s 23 rd birthday. In terms of
the percentage of the 5% solidarity contribution, the Chamber calculated that, on a
pro rata basis, this corresponds to 39.56% of 5% as opposed to the 50% of 5%
claimed by the Claimant.
11.
In view of all of the above, the DRC decided to partially accept the claim of the
Claimant and held that the Respondent is liable to pay the amount of EUR 9,890 to
the Claimant as solidarity contribution in relation to the transfer of the player from
club X to the Respondent.
12.
In continuation, the deciding authority referred to art. 25 par. 2 of the Regulations
in combination with art. 18 par. 1 of the Procedural Rules, according to which in the
proceedings before the Dispute Resolution Chamber relating to disputes regarding
solidarity mechanism costs in the maximum amount of currency of country H 25,000
are levied. The costs are to be borne in consideration of the parties’ degree of
success in the proceedings.
Solidarity contribution in connection with the player A
(Club P from country, F / Club S, from country C)
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13.
In this respect, the Chamber reiterated that the claim of the Claimant is partially
accepted and established that the Respondent has to bear the costs of the current
proceedings in front of FIFA.
14.
According to Annexe A of the Procedural Rules, the costs of the proceedings are to
be levied on the basis of the amount in dispute.
15.
The amount in dispute to be taken into consideration in the present proceedings
amounts to EUR 12,500 related to the claim of the Claimant. Therefore, the
Chamber concluded that the maximum amount of costs of the proceedings
corresponds to currency of country H 5,000 (cf. table in Annexe A).
16.
Considering that the case at hand allowed to be dealt with following a simple
procedure, that the case was adjudicated by the Chamber, that the present case did
not show particular factual difficulty and that it did not involve specific legal
complexity, the Chamber determined the final amount of costs of the current
proceedings to the amount of currency of country H 2,000.
17.
In view of all of the above, the Chamber concluded that the amount of currency of
country H 2,000 has to be paid by the Respondent to cover the costs of the present
proceedings.
III.
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the Claimant, club P, is partially accepted.
2.
The Respondent, club S, has to pay to the Claimant the amount of EUR 9,890 within
30 days of notification of this decision.
3.
In the event that the aforementioned sum is not paid 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 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 currency of country H 2,000 are
to be paid by the Respondent to FIFA, within 30 days as from the date of
notification of the present decision, to the following bank account with reference
to case no.
Solidarity contribution in connection with the player A
(Club P from country, F / Club S, from country C)
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6.
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 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
Solidarity contribution in connection with the player A
(Club P from country, F / Club S, from country C)
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