Solidarity Contribution
Texto da decisão
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 10 January 2008,
in the following composition:
Slim Aloulou (Tunisia), Chairman
Theo van Seggelen (Netherlands), member
Joaquim Evangelista (Portugal), member
Ivan Gazidis (USA), member
Reinhard Rauball (Germany), member
on the claim presented by the club
X,
as “Claimant”
against the club
Y,
as “Respondent”
regarding solidarity contribution related to the transfer of the player Z.
I.
Facts of the case
1.
The player, Z, was born on 7 June 1981.
2.
According to the written confirmation of the Football Association of X, the
player was formerly registered with X as from 1 June 1996 until 2 August 2002.
3.
Furthermore, the Football Association of X confirmed that its sporting season
runs from 1 August until 1 July.
4.
In spite of FIFA’s request, the Football Federation of Y has failed to confirm the
exact date on which the player was registered with its member club.
5.
The relevant International Transfer Certificate (ITC) was issued by the Football
Association of X on behalf of the Football Federation of Y on 19 July 2006.
6.
On 5 June 2007, X lodged a claim in front of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
(DRC) against Y for payment of its proportion of the solidarity contribution on
the basis of Annex 5 of the Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players
(edition 2005).
7.
According to X, in July 2006, the player was transferred from the club V to Y
for a transfer compensation of EUR ….
8.
In the light of the above, X maintains being entitled to a proportion of 60% or
EUR ….
9.
Y has failed to respond to the claim lodged by X.
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 formally submitted to FIFA on 5
June 2007, as a consequence the Chamber concluded that the Rules Governing
the Procedures of the Players' Status Committee and the Dispute Resolution
Chamber (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
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jurisdiction in the light of articles 22 to 24 of the 2005 version of the
Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players. In accordance with art. 24
par. 1 in combination with art. 22 (d) of the aforementioned Regulations, the
Dispute Resolution Chamber shall adjudicate on disputes related to solidarity
mechanism between clubs belonging to different Associations.
3.
As a consequence, the Dispute Resolution Chamber is the competent body to
decide on the present litigation concerning the distribution of the solidarity
contribution claimed by the Claimant in connection with the transfer of the
professional Z to the Respondent during the course of a contract.
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
the version 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, as can be noted from the relevant ITC, in July 2006. Equally,
the Chamber took note that the claim was lodged at FIFA on 5 June 2007. In
view of the aforementioned, the Chamber concluded that the 2005 edition of
the FIFA Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players (hereinafter: the
Regulations) is applicable to the case at hand as to the substance.
5.
Once its competence was thus established, the Chamber went on to deal with
the substance of the case.
6.
The members of the Chamber duly noted that the Claimant claims payment of
solidarity contribution in the amount of EUR … related to the period of time
from 1 June 1996 until 2 August 2002 on the basis of the transfer of the player,
Z, from V (country of X) to the Respondent involving a transfer compensation of
EUR ….
7.
The Respondent, for its part, has failed to present any response to the claim
lodged by X in spite of having been invited to do so. In this way, so the
Chamber, the Respondent renounced its right to defence and accepted the
allegations put forward by the Claimant.
8.
Taking into account the above-mentioned elements, the Chamber agreed that
the Claimant is entitled to receive solidarity contribution in accordance with art.
21 and art. 1 of Annex 5 of the Regulations.
9.
Consequently, the Chamber proceeded with the calculation of the amount of
solidarity contribution undisputedly payable by the Respondent to the
Claimant.
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10. The Chamber emphasized that, as established in art. 21 of the Regulations and
art. 1 of Annex 5 of the Regulations, the new club, to which a player is
transferred during the course of an employment contract, is responsible for the
distribution of 5% of the compensation paid to the player’s former club to the
club(s) involved in the training and education of the player over the years. In
the case at hand, the transfer compensation undisputedly amounts to EUR ….
11. The said art. 1 of Annex 5 of the Regulations provides the figures for the
distribution of the solidarity contribution taking into consideration the number
of years that the player was registered with the club(s) involved in his training
and education between the seasons of his 12th and 23rd birthdays .
12. In the present case, on account of the above-mentioned elements, the Chamber
concluded that 60% of the 5% solidarity contribution shall be apportioned to
the Claimant.
13. Bearing in mind that the amount agreed upon by and between the Respondent
and V for the transfer of the player Z is EUR …, 60% of the 5% solidarity
contribution amounts to EUR ….
14. In light of the above, the Chamber decided that the Respondent is liable to pay
to the Claimant the amount of EUR … as solidarity contribution.
*****
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III. Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the Claimant, X, is accepted.
2.
The Respondent, Y, shall pay the amount of EUR … to the Claimant within 30
days of notification of the present decision.
3.
In the event that the amount of EUR … is not paid within the stated deadline,
an interest rate of 5% per year will apply as of expiry of the aforementioned
time limit and the case will immediately be presented to the FIFA Disciplinary
Committee.
4.
The Claimant is directed to inform the Respondent 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:
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
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