Labour Disputes
Texto da decisão
Decision of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 6 November 2014,
in the following composition:
Thomas Grimm (Switzerland), Deputy Chairman
Theo van Seggelen (Netherlands), member
Theodore Giannikos (Greece), member
on the claim presented by the player,
J, from country E
as Claimant
against the club,
Club A, from country S
as Respondent
regarding an employment-related dispute arisen between the parties
I.
Facts of the case
1.
On 1 July 2012, the player J from country E (hereinafter: the Claimant), and the
Club A from country S (hereinafter: the Respondent), entered into an employment
contract valid as from 1 July 2012 until 30 June 2013.
2.
According to the employment contract, the Respondent agreed to pay the
Claimant the amount of USD 500,000 as a signing-on fee as well as the amount of
USD 41,666.67 as a monthly salary.
3.
On 19 February 2013, due to the Claimant’s injury, the Claimant and the
Respondent signed a termination agreement by means of which the parties
agreed to terminate the employment contract. Art. 2 of the aforesaid agreement
reads as follows: “The Club is committed to pay the player all his salaries until the
end of his contract (30th June 2013).”
4.
However, according to the Claimant, the Respondent failed to respect the
termination agreement, despite having sent a default notice on 8 and 21 April
2014.
5.
On account of the above, on 22 July 2014, the Claimant lodged a claim in front of
FIFA against the Respondent claiming the amount of USD 250,000.02 relating to
the salaries of January 2013 to June 2013.
6.
Equally, the Claimant requested 5% interest as from 19 February 2013 as well as
legal costs.
7.
In reply to the claim lodged against it, the Respondent stated that it had informed
the Claimant on various occasions of its difficult financial situation and indicated
that it would pay him the amount of USD 250,000, however by 31 December 2014
only.
II.
Considerations of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
First of all, the Dispute Resolution Chamber (hereinafter also referred to as the
Chamber or DRC) analysed whether it was competent to deal with the case at
hand. In this respect, it took note that the present matter was submitted to FIFA
on 22 July 2014. Consequently, the 2012 edition of the Rules Governing the
Procedures of the Players’ Status Committee and the Dispute Resolution Chamber
(hereinafter: Procedural Rules) is applicable to the matter at hand (cf. article 21 of
the 2012 and 2014 edition 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 and 2 in
combination with art. 22 lit. b) of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of
Player J, from country E / Club A, from country S
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Players (edition 2014), the Dispute Resolution Chamber is competent to deal with
the matter at stake, which concerns an employment-related dispute with an
international dimension between a player and a club.
3.
In this respect, the Chamber wished to clarify that contrary to the information
contained in FIFA’s letter dated 30 October 2014 by means of which the parties
were informed of the composition of the Chamber, the members Carlos González
Puche and Mohamed Al-Saikhan refrained from participating in the deliberations
in the case at hand, due to the fact that the member Mohamed Al-Saikhan has
the same nationality as a party involved in the present proceedings. In order to
comply with the prerequisite of equal representation of club and player
representatives, also the member Carlos González Puche refrained from
participating and thus the Dispute Resolution Chamber adjudicated the case in
the presence of three members in accordance with art. 24 par. 2 of the
Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players.
4.
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, it confirmed that in accordance with art. 26 par. 1 and 2 of
the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (edition 2012 and 2014) and
considering that the present claim was lodged in front of FIFA on 22 July 2014,
the 2012 edition of said regulations (hereinafter: Regulations) is applicable to the
matter at hand as to the substance.
5.
The competence of the Chamber and the applicable regulations having been
established, and entering into the substance of the matter, the Chamber started
by acknowledging the above-mentioned facts as well as the documentation
contained in the 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.
6.
First of all, the members of the Chamber acknowledged that the Claimant and
Respondent had concluded an employment contract valid as from 1 July 2012
until 30 June 2013, establishing a monthly salary of USD 41,666.67.
7.
Furthermore, the Chamber took note of the termination agreement concluded
between the Claimant and the Respondent on 19 February 2013 by means of
which they had agreed to put an end to their contractual relationship and by
means of which the Respondent committed to continue to pay the Claimant his
salaries until 30 June 2013.
8.
In continuation, the members of the Chamber noted that the Claimant lodged a
claim against the Respondent in front of FIFA for the amount of USD 250,000.02
plus 5% interest as from 19 February 2013, maintaining that the Respondent had
not complied with its obligations provided for in the termination agreement.
Player J, from country E / Club A, from country S
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9.
Finally, the Chamber observed that the Respondent acknowledged that it had a
debt towards the Claimant in the total amount of USD 250,000.
10.
Having taken into consideration the previous considerations, the Chamber
underlined that the Respondent acknowledged that it had a debt towards the
Claimant and concurred that therefore, the Respondent must fulfill its obligations
as per the termination agreement in accordance with the general legal principle
of “pacta sunt servanda”. Consequently, the Chamber decided that the
Respondent is liable to pay to the Claimant the amount of USD 250,000.02,
corresponding to 6 monthly salaries of USD 41,666.67.
11.
In continuation and with regard to the Claimant's request for interest, the
Chamber decided that the Claimant is entitled to receive interest at the rate of
5% p.a. on the amount of USD 250,000.02 as from the respective due dates of the
salaries as stipulated in the employment contract. In this respect, the Chamber
clarified that it could not be established from the content of the termination
agreement that the amount of USD 250,000.02 fell immediately due, but rather
that it was agreed upon that the Respondent would continue to pay the monthly
salaries to the Claimant on the basis of the employment contract.
12.
Moreover, the Dispute Resolution Chamber decided to reject the Claimant’s claim
pertaining to legal costs in accordance with art. 18 par. 4 of the Procedural Rules
and the Chamber’s respective longstanding jurisprudence in this regard.
13.
The Dispute Resolution Chamber concluded its deliberations in the present matter
by establishing that any further claim lodged by the Claimant is rejected.
*****
III.
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the Claimant, player J, is partially accepted.
2.
The Respondent, Club A, has to pay to the Claimant, within 30 days as from the
date of notification of this decision, the amount of USD 250,000.02 plus 5%
interest until the date of effective payment as follows:
a. 5% p.a. as of 19 February 2013 on the amount of USD 41,666.67 ;
b. 5% p.a. as of 1 March 2013 on the amount of USD 41,666.67;
c. 5% p.a. as of 1 April 2013 on the amount of USD 41,666.67;
d. 5% p.a. as of 1 May 2013 on the amount of USD 41,666.67;
e. 5% p.a. as of 1 June 2013 on the amount of USD 41,666.67;
f. 5% p.a. as of 1 July 2013 on the amount of USD 41,666.67.
Player J, from country E / Club A, from country S
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3.
In the event that the aforementioned amount plus interest is not paid by the
Respondent within the stated time limit, the present matter shall be submitted,
upon request, to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee for consideration and a formal
decision.
4.
Any further claim lodged by the Claimant is rejected.
5.
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
Encl. CAS directives
Player J, from country E / Club A, from country S
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