Solidarity Contribution
Texto da decisão
Decision of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) judge
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 11 March 2011,
by Mr Theo van Seggelen (Netherlands), DRC judge,
on the claim presented by the club
B,
as Claimant
against the club
A,
as Respondent
regarding a dispute relating to solidarity contribution
in connection with the transfer of the player L
I.
Facts of the case
1.
The Football Federation P (hereinafter: FFP) confirmed that the player, L
(hereinafter: player), born on 7 July 1982, was registered with its affiliated club, B
(hereinafter: B or Claimant), as from 23 August 2002 until 24 August 2003 as an
amateur.
2.
The Football Federation P informed FIFA that, until the season 1999/2000, the
sporting season in the country P ran as from 1 August until 31 July of the
following year and that, since the season 2000/2001, the sporting season ran as
from 1 July until 30 June of the following year.
3.
According to a written statement transmitted by the Football Federation H
(hereinafter: FFH) the player was registered with the club A (hereinafter: A or
Respondent) on 7 February 2008.
4.
A provided FIFA with a copy of the transfer agreement concluded in February 2008
with the club V for the transfer of said player, and which stipulates that the
transfer compensation agreed upon amounted to EUR 350,000.
5.
On 30 December 2008, the club B contacted FIFA, claiming its proportion of the
solidarity contribution in connection with said transfer. In particular, the club B
claimed the amount of EUR 1,759.
6.
In spite of the fact that an agreement on the amount to be paid by club A to club
B appeared to have been found, the club B informed FIFA that it never received
any payment from the club A.
7.
Despite having been invited to present its position, the Respondent did not submit
any further comments.
II.
Considerations of the Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) judge
1.
First of all, the DRC judge analysed whether he was competent to deal with the
case at hand. In this respect, he first referred to art. 21 par. 1 and 2 of the Rules
Governing the Procedures of the Players’ Status Committee and the Dispute
Resolution Chamber (edition 2008; hereinafter: the Procedural Rules). The present
matter was submitted to FIFA on 30 December 2008, thus after the
aforementioned Rules entered into force on 1 July 2008. Therefore, the DRC judge
concluded that the 2008 edition of the Procedural Rules is applicable to the matter
at hand.
2.
Subsequently, the DRC judge referred to art. 3 par. 2 of the Procedural Rules,
which states that the DRC judge shall examine its jurisdiction in the light of art. 24
par. 2 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (edition 2009). In
accordance with art. 24 par. 2 in connection with art. 22 lit. e) of the Regulations
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on the Status and Transfer of Players, the DRC judge is competent to decide on the
present litigation relating to solidarity contribution between clubs belonging to
different associations.
3.
Furthermore, the DRC judge 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, he referred, on the one hand, to art. 26 par. 1 and 2 of the
Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (editions 2009 and 2008) and, on
the other hand, to the fact that the present claim was lodged on
30 December 2008 and that the player was registered for the Respondent on
7 February 2008. In view of the aforementioned, the DRC judge concluded that
the 2008 edition of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players
(hereinafter: the Regulations) is applicable to the matter at hand as to the
substance.
4.
The competence of the DRC judge and the applicable regulations having been
established, the DRC judge entered into the substance of the matter. In doing so,
the DRC judge started by acknowledging the facts of the case as well as the
documents contained in the file.
5.
In continuation, the DRC judge went on to recall that according to art. 21 of the
Regulations in combination with Annexe 5 of the Regulations, if a professional
player moves during the course of a contract, 5% of any compensation, not
including training compensation paid to his former club, shall be deducted from
the total amount of this compensation and be distributed by the new club as
solidarity contribution to the club(s) involved in the training and education of the
player in proportion to the number of years the player has been registered with
the relevant club(s) between the sporting seasons of his 12th and 23rd birthday.
6.
In this respect, the DRC judge drew his attention to the fact that the Football
Federation P confirmed that the player, born on 7 July 1982, was registered with
the Claimant as from 23 August 2002 until 24 August 2003 as an amateur.
7.
In addition to the above, the DRC judge took into account that according to the
transfer contract concluded between the club, V, and the Respondent, the player
was transferred for the amount of EUR 350,000.
8.
Moreover, the DRC judge considered that the Claimant requested the payment of
the amount of EUR 1,759 as solidarity contribution, corresponding to 10.05% of
the proportion of 5% of the total transfer compensation paid by the Respondent
to V.
9.
Furthermore, the DRC judge duly noted that the Respondent transmitted a copy of
the transfer agreement concluded with V, however without explaining its position
regarding the claim at hand.
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10.
In this respect, the DRC judge took due note of the fact that the Claimant agreed
on the information in accordance with which the transfer compensation paid in
relation with the transfer of the player concerned is amounting to EUR 350,000.
11.
What is more, the DRC judge also duly noted that the Respondent did not contest
the Claimant’s right to receive solidarity contribution.
12.
In light of the above, the DRC judge decided that the period of training and
education to be taken into account corresponds to a total of 12 months.
Consequently, he established that, in accordance with the breakdown provided for
in art. 1 of Annexe 5 of the Regulations, the Claimant is entitled to receive 10% of
5% of the transfer compensation paid by the Respondent.
13.
In view of all of the above, the DRC judge decided that the Claimant’s claim was
partially accepted and that the Respondent has to pay to the Claimant the amount
of EUR 1,750 as solidarity contribution, based on the transfer compensation of
EUR 350,000, as claimed by the Claimant.
14.
In continuation, the DRC judge referred to art. 18 par. 1 of the Procedural Rules,
according to which in the proceedings before the DRC judge relating to disputes
regarding the solidarity mechanism, costs in the maximum amount of CHF 25,000
are levied. The costs are to be borne in consideration of the parties’ degree of
success in the proceedings.
15.
In this respect, the DRC judge reiterated that the claim of the Claimant is partially
accepted. Therefore, the Respondent has to bear the costs of the current
proceedings in front of FIFA.
16.
According to Annexe A of the Procedural Rules, the costs of the proceedings are to
be levied on the basis of the amount in dispute.
17.
The amount in dispute to be taken into consideration in the present proceedings
amounts to EUR 1,759 related to the claim of the Claimant. Therefore, the DRC
judge concluded that the maximum amount of costs of the proceedings
corresponds to CHF 5,000 (cf. table in Annexe A).
18.
Considering that the case at hand did not involve specific legal complexity or show
particular factual difficulty, but on the other hand did not allow to be dealt with
following a reasonable procedure, the DRC judge determined the final amount of
costs of the current proceedings to the amount of CHF 500.
19.
In view of all of the above, the DRC judge concluded that the amount of CHF 500
has to be paid by the Respondent to FIFA to cover the costs of the present
proceedings.
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III.
Decision of the DRC judge
1.
The claim of the Claimant, B, is partially accepted.
2.
The Respondent, club A, has to pay to the Claimant, club B, the amount of EUR
1,750 within 30 days as from the date of notification of this decision.
3.
If the aforementioned sum is not paid within the aforementioned time limit, an
interest rate of 5% p.a. will apply on the said amount 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 a formal decision.
4.
Any further claim filed by the Claimant, club B, is rejected.
5.
The final amount of costs of the proceedings in the amount of CHF 500 is to be
paid by the Respondent, the club A, within 30 days of notification of the present
decision to FIFA to the following bank account with reference to case no. [xxx XXXXXXX]:
UBS Zurich
Account number 366.677.01U (FIFA Players’ Status)
Clearing number 230
IBAN: CH27 0023 0230 3666 7701U
SWIFT: UBSWCHZH80A
6.
The Claimant, club B, is directed to inform the Respondent, club A, 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.
*****
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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
CH-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 DRC judge
Jérôme Valcke
General Secretary
Encl.
CAS directives
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