Training Compensation
Texto da decisão
Decision of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 23 February 2007,
in the following composition:
Slim Aloulou (Tunisia), Chairman
Mr. Philippe Diallo (France), member
Essa M. Sahleh al Housani (United Arab Emirates), member
Michele Colucci (Italy), member
Mick McGuire (England), member
on the claim presented by the club
W, xxxxx
as Claimant
against the club
B, xxxxxx,
as Respondent
regarding a dispute for training compensation
for the player X.
I.
Facts of the case
1.
The Football Association of xxxx confirmed that the player X, born on 17 March
1985, was registered with the club W, the Claimant, as from 1 October 2003 until
15 August 2005, between the ages of 18 and 20 as amateur.
2.
On 19 August 2005, the relevant International Transfer Certificate was issued by
the Football Association of xxxxxx in favour of the xxxxx Football Federation and
the player concerned was registered with the club B, the Respondent.
3.
On 10 November 2005, the Claimant contacted FIFA requesting training
compensation arguing that the player was registered with the Respondent as a
professional player.
4.
According to the FIFA circular no. 826 dated 31 October 2002, which regards the
categorisation of clubs, the Claimant is a IV division club, belonging to category 4,
and the Respondent belongs to category 4 (indicative amount EUR 10,000 per
year).
5.
On 16 June 2006, the Respondent explained that it is convinced that the deciding
body will take the right decision after studying all the documents it provided.
However, the Respondent neither provide any documents nor any further
explanations as to the substance of the matter.
6.
FIFA informed the Respondent several times through the xxxxx Football
Federation, that no documents were ever received, however, the Respondent
never provided any further answer.
7.
The Claimant asks the Dispute Resolution Chamber to decide upon the amount
due as training compensation.
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 10 November
2005, 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.
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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 articles 22 to 24 of the current version 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 aforementioned
Regulations, 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 X.
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
modified version in accordance with the FIFA circular no. 995 dated 23 September
2005. Furthermore, it acknowledged that the player had been registered for his
new club in August 2005. Equally the Chamber took note that the claim was
lodged at FIFA on 10 November 2005. In view of the aforementioned, the
Chamber concluded that the current version Regulations for the Status and
Transfer of Players (edition 2005; hereafter: the Regulations) are applicable to the
case at hand as to the substance.
5.
In continuation, and entering into the substance of the matter, the members of
the Chamber started by acknowledging the facts of the case as well as the
documentation contained in the file.
6.
In particular, the Chamber considered that in accordance with the FIFA circular no.
826 dated 31 October 2002, which regards the categorization of clubs, the Football
Association of xxxxx confirmed that the Claimant is a IV division club, belonging to
category 4 and the xxxxx Football Federation confirmed that Respondent also
belongs to category 4.
7.
In this context, the Chamber referred to art. 2 of the annex 4 of the Regulations
which states that training compensation is not due if the player is transferred to a
category 4 club.
8.
The Chamber emphasised that based on the documentation at its disposal, it
appears, that the player singed his first employment contract when he was
transferred to a category 4 club.
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9.
Although, the Chamber could not completely follow that a category 4 club
engages professional players, it concluded to reject the Claimant’s claim for
training compensation for the player X in strict application art. 2 of the annex 4 of
the Regulations.
III.
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the Claimant, W, is rejected.
2.
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:
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:
Markus Kattner
Acting General Secretary
Encl. CAS directives
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