Labour Disputes
Texto da decisão
Decision of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 19 February 2009,
in the following composition:
Slim Aloulou (Tunisia), Chairman
Philippe Piat (France), member
Mick McGuire (England), member
Mario Gallavotti (Italy), member
Reinhard Rauball (Germany), member
on the claim presented by the player,
D,
as Claimant
against the club,
K,
as Respondent
regarding an employment-related contractual dispute
between the parties.
I.
Facts of the case
1.
On 5 June 2006, the club K (hereinafter: the club or the Respondent) and the
player D (hereinafter: the player or the Claimant) signed an employment
contract, valid from 2 June 2006 until 31 May 2007. Under the terms of this
contract, it was agreed that the player would receive EUR 175,000, payable in
ten monthly instalments of EUR 17,500.
2.
On 11 September 2007, the player submitted a complaint to FIFA against the
club on the grounds that the club had not paid him the last three instalments
of EUR 17,500 as provided for in the contract.
3.
However, the player acknowledged having received a partial payment of EUR
10,000.
4.
Consequently, the player is claiming the amount of EUR 42,500.
5.
Despite being issued with injunctions by FIFA dated 2 June 2008 and 22 July
2008, to reply to the claim lodged by the Claimant, the Respondent has failed
to respond.
II.
Considerations of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
First of all, the Dispute Resolution Chamber 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 11 September 2007. Consequently,
the Rules Governing the Procedures of the Players’ Status Committee and the
Dispute Resolution Chamber (edition 2005, hereinafter: the Procedural Rules)
are applicable to the matter at hand (cf. art. 18 par. 2 and 3 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
combination with art. 22 lit. b of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of
Players (edition 2008) 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.
Furthermore, the Chamber analysed which regulations 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 2008), and considering that the present claim was lodged on
11 September 2007, the previous version of the regulations (edition 2005;
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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. The
members of the Chamber started by acknowledging that the Respondent and
the Claimant signed on 5 June 2006 an employment contract valid from 2 June
2006 until 31 May 2007.
5.
Furthermore, the Chamber noted that this contract stipulated, among other
things, that the Claimant was entitled to receive EUR 175,000 from the
Respondent in ten monthly installments of EUR 17,500.
6.
In continuation, the Chamber acknowledged that on 11 September 2007 the
Claimant submitted a claim to FIFA against the Respondent, demanding that
the Respondent be ordered to pay the outstanding three last installments of
EUR 17,500 each.
7.
The Chamber further acknowledged that the Claimant has received a partial
payment amounting to EUR 10,000.
8.
In this respect, the Chamber observed that the Respondent never took position
on the claim lodged against it by the player, despite having been asked to do
so by FIFA on several occasions and underlined that, in this way, the
Respondent renounced its right to defense and, thus, accepted the allegations
of the Claimant.
9.
As a consequence, the Chamber referred to art. 9 par. 3 of the Procedural
Rules and pointed out that in the present matter a decision shall be taken
upon the basis of the documents on file.
10.
On account of the above and taking into consideration the documentation
presented by the Claimant in support of his position, the Chamber concluded
its deliberations by deciding that the Claimant’s claim was accepted.
11.
Taking into account all of the above, the Dispute Resolution Chamber decided
that the Respondent must pay the amount of EUR 42,500 to the Claimant.
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III.
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the Claimant D is accepted.
2.
The Respondent K has to pay to the Claimant D the amount of EUR 42,500
within 30 days as from the date of notification of this decision.
3.
If the aforementioned sum is not paid within the aforementioned deadline,
interest at the rate of 5% per year will apply as of expiry of the fixed time limit
and the present matter shall be submitted, upon request, to FIFA’s Disciplinary
Committee for its consideration and decision.
4.
The Claimant D is directed to inform the Respondent K 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. 63 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
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