Labour Disputes
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
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 player, X,
as Claimant
against
the clubY,
as Respondent
regarding a contractual dispute between the player and the club
I.
Facts of the case
1.
On 7 December 2005, the player, X, and the club, Y, signed an employment
contract valid as from 15 January 2006 until 15 June 2009.
2.
According to this contract, the player is entitled to a monthly salary of 2,500
dollars (no indication of national currency), accommodation, health service and
specified travel costs.
3.
On 1 March 2006, the same parties signed an employment contract in
accordance with which the player was registered with Y with the permission of
Z for trials. Furthermore, according to this contract the player was entitled to a
monthly salary of 2,500 dollars for March, April and May and the club
guaranteed housing during his stay.
4.
The contract signed in March also sets forth that after 20 May (no indication of
year) Y would decide and give notice as to whether or not it desires to keep
the player. If Y would decide not to keep the player, it would not have to pay
anything to the player or to Z.
5.
This second contract contains a clause according to which the contract signed
on 7 December 2005 is no longer valid and states that the parties have no
further claim of any kind towards each other.
6.
On 12 June 2006, FIFA received the player’s claim in which X explains that the
contract dated 7 December 2005 was signed while he was still playing at his
club in the country of Z and that after his late arrival in the country of Y,
caused by visa problems, he was allegedly pressured to sign the contract dated
1 March 2006.
7.
The player asserts that the club failed to pay his salaries and rent and that he
got injured. In this respect, he alleges that he had to pay for the rent and the
medical costs himself. The player presented a copy of invoices that are drafted
in the national language of Y and he maintains not being able to provide a
translation due to lack of the necessary funds.
8.
The player submitted a copy of a letter dated 20 May 2006 signed by the club’s
managing director referring to the contract signed on 1 March 2006. In this
letter the club notifies the player of the fact that it no longer wants to make
use of the player’s services and that the club is proceeding with the payment to
the player of the outstanding monies. This letter was also signed by the player
acknowledging its receipt and its content.
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9.
The player claims that the club acted in breach of the employment contract
and must pay his outstanding salaries as well as the costs incurred and he
wants the club to compensate him for his “sufferance”. The outstanding
salaries and costs incurred have been specified by the player as follows:
a.
b.
c.
d.
4 months’ salary (February, March, April, May):
accommodation … 100,000 (cf. player 2 x USD 500)
hospital invoice
costs relating to changes in his air ticket
USD 10,000
USD 1,000
USD
150
USD
100
USD 11,250
10.
No amount of money was indicated by the player with respect to
compensation for damages.
11.
X also presented a copy of his letter dated 9 June 2006 addressed to the
Football Federation of Y asking for its assistance in order to obtain his
outstanding salaries, the costs incurred for the accommodation and the change
of his flight that he maintains having had to pay for himself.
12.
On 17 October 2006, on behalf of its member club, the Football Federation of
Y acknowledged that the player had a professional contract with Y valid from
1 March 2006 until 31 May 2006.
13.
Furthermore, after the expiry of the contract X allegedly left and did not leave
any contact numbers, which is why the club could not pay its debt.
14.
In addition, the contract provided by the player, which was not concluded with
the managing director of the club, is unknown by the club (there is no
indication as to which of the two above-mentioned contracts the club refers
to).
II. Considerations of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
First of all, the Chamber analyzed 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 12 June
2006, as a consequence the Chamber concluded that the revised Rules
Governing Procedures (edition 2005, hereinafter: the Rules) 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 (b) of the aforementioned
Regulations, the Dispute Resolution Chamber shall adjudicate on employmentrelated disputes between a club and a player that have an international
dimension.
3.
As a consequence, the Dispute Resolution Chamber is the competent body to
decide on the present litigation involving a club from the country of Y and a
player from … regarding a contractual dispute in connection with an
employment 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, on the one hand,
to art. 26 par. 1 and 2 of the Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players
(edition 2005) and, on the other hand, to the facts that the relevant contract at
the basis of the present dispute was signed on 1 March 2006 and that the claim
was lodged at FIFA on 12 June 2006. In view of the aforementioned, the
Chamber concluded that the current FIFA Regulations for the Status and
Transfers of Players (edition 2005, hereinafter: the Regulations).
5.
Once its competence and the applicable Regulations were thus established, the
Dispute Resolution Chamber went on to deal with the substance of the case.
The members of the Chamber carefully studied the facts outlined above, which
show that the player, X, and the club, Y, signed an employment contract on 7
December 2005, the validity of which was revoked by means of the contract
that the same parties concluded on 1 March 2006. Consequently, the Chamber
concluded that it shall base its considerations on the aforementioned contract
dated 1 March 2006, which was apparently valid until the end of the relevant
season in May 2006.
6.
The player maintains that he has not been paid his salary for February, March,
April, and May to the monthly amount of USD 2,500, i.e. the global amount of
USD 10,000. In addition, he claims payment of costs that he maintains having
incurred in connection with his accommodation, health, and travel. Finally, the
player deems that the club acted in breach of the employment contract and asks
that he be awarded compensation for damages.
7.
According to the employment contract dated 1 March 2006, the player was
entitled to a monthly payment of 2,500 dollars for March, April, and May. This
contract, however, does not include any benefit relating to health services and
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the accommodation that was guaranteed by Y according the relevant contract
has no indication whatsoever as to its value or quality.
8.
The Chamber noted that in its defence, Y has stated that it could not pay its
debt to the player due to the circumstance that X had left after the expiry of
the contract without leaving any contact numbers, which statement has not
been refuted by the player.
9.
Consequently, the Chamber concluded that Y does not contest that it owes
monies to the player. However, the club has not expressed itself on the amount
that remains outstanding. In this context, the members of the Chamber also
duly noted that in its letter dated 20 May 2006 addressed to the player, the club
acknowledged that “We are proceeding with the payment of the due sums that
have not been paid yet to you”.
10. The Chamber took into account that from the documentation in its possession it
is evident that the player has not put the club in default of any payment prior
to the expiry of the relevant contract.
11. With respect to the player’s claim for outstanding salary and taking into
account the relevant terms of the employment contract dated 1 March 2006,
according to which the player was entitled to a monthly payment of 2,500
dollars as of March 2006, the Chamber concluded that Y undisputedly owes the
amount of USD 7,500 to X for March, April and May 2006. In this regard, the
Chamber was eager to point out that Y has not contested the currency
indicated by the player, i.e. United States dollars.
12. The Chamber concurred that the player’s claim for costs relating to health
services and travel that he allegedly incurred must be rejected in the light of the
fact that the relevant employment contract dated 1 March 2006 does not
include any benefits or reimbursement of costs relating to the player’s health
and travel.
13. As far as the player’s claim for reimbursement of accommodation costs is
concerned, the Chamber decided to reject this claim in the light of the facts that
no documentary evidence corroborating any amount that he might have been
entitled to in this regard has been presented and that the relevant employment
contract does not indicate any value or quality pertaining to such
accommodation.
14. Finally, the Chamber turned to the player’s claim for compensation of damages,
for which he has failed to present a value breakdown. In this respect, the
Chamber also took into account that the player lodged his claim at FIFA after
the expiry of his contract and without previously having put the club in default
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of any payment. Furthermore, Y terminated the contract in accordance with the
terms of the employment contract dated 1 March 2006, which termination was
accepted by the player, who co-signed the relevant notice of termination. For
these reasons, the Chamber could not agree with the player’s viewpoint that
the club had committed a breach of contract in the sense of Art. 17 of the
Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players.
15. Taking into consideration all of the above, the Chamber decided that Y is liable
to pay to X the amount of USD 7,500 for outstanding salaries.
*****
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III. Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the Claimant, X, is partially accepted.
2.
The Respondent, Y, has to pay the amount of USD 7,500 to the Claimant within
30 days as from the date of notification of this decision.
3.
In the event that the amount of USD 7,500 is not paid within the stated
deadline, an interest rate of 5% per year will apply as of expiry of the
aforementioned deadline.
4.
If the sum of USD 7,500 is not paid within the aforementioned deadline, the
present matter shall be submitted to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.
5.
Any further claims of the Claimant are rejected.
6.
The Claimant is directed to inform the Respondent immediately of the bank
account number to which the remittance is to be made and to notify the
Dispute Resolution Chamber of every payment received.
7.
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:
_________________
Urs Linsi
General Secretary
Enclosed: CAS directives
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