Solidarity Contribution
Texto da decisão
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 28 March 2008,
in the following composition:
ALOULOU Slim (Tunisia), Chairman
MC GUIRE Mick (England), member
MARTORELLI Rinaldo (Brazil), member
GALLAVOTTI Mario (Italy), member
SALEH AL HOUSANI Essa M. (United Arab Emirates), member
on the claim presented by the club
AAA, Xxx,
as Claimant
against the club
BBB, Xxx,
as Respondent
regarding the solidarity contribution for the transfer of the player CCC
I.
Facts of the case
1.
According to an official confirmation issued by the Xxx Football Federation the
Xxx player, CCC (hereinafter; the player), born on 7 March 1977, was registered
with the Xxx club, AAA (hereinafter: the Claimant), from 15 January 1990 until
22 November 1994. The season in Xxx starts in July and ends in June of the
following year.
2.
In January 2006, the player was transferred from the Xxx club, DDD, to the Xxx
club, BBB (hereinafter: the Respondent), for an alleged transfer compensation in
the amount of EUR 2,000,000.
3.
On 20 January 2006, the player was registered at the Xxx Football Federation for
its affiliated club, the Respondent.
4.
On 1 September 2006, the Claimant lodged a claim at FIFA against the
Respondent. In particular, the Claimant claimed the amount of EUR 40,000 as
solidarity contribution, corresponding to 40% of 5% of the compensation
allegedly paid for the relevant transfer of the player.
5.
The Respondent omitted to expose its position to the claim lodged by the
Claimant, despite having been invited to do so by FIFA on 2 November 2006 and
16 March 2007.
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 1 September 2006. Consequently, the Rules
Governing the Procedures of the Players’ Status Committee and the Dispute
Resolution Chamber (hereinafter: 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. (d) of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of
Players (edition 2008) the Dispute Resolution Chamber is competent to decide on
the present litigation with an international dimension concerning the
distribution of the solidarity contribution claimed by the Claimant in connection
with the transfer of the professional player, CCC, during the course of a contract.
3.
Furthermore, and taking into consideration that the player was registered with
his new club on 20 January 2006, 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 1 September 2006, the previous version of the regulations
Solidarity contribution for the transfer of the player CCC
(AAA, Xxx / Club BBB, Xxx)
2
(edition 2005; 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 Claimant claims
40% of 5% of the transfer compensation in the amount of EUR 2,000,000
allegedly paid by the Respondent to DDD, i.e. the amount of EUR 40,000, as
solidarity contribution.
5.
In continuation, the members of the Chamber emphasised that, as established in
art. 21 of the Regulations in connection with annex 5 of the Regulations, the
new club of the player shall distribute 5% of any compensation, with the
exception of training compensation, paid to the player’s former club 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 clubs between
the sporting seasons of his 12th and 23rd birthdays.
6.
In this regard, the Chamber observed that the Respondent never took position in
the dispute, despite having been asked to do so by FIFA on several occasions, and
underlined that in this way the Respondent renounced to its right to defence. As
a consequence, the Chamber deemed that the Respondent accepted the
allegation of the Claimant as to the amount paid as transfer compensation in the
amount of EUR 2,000,000.
7.
Furthermore, the Chamber outlined that the period to be taken into
consideration has to be determined in accordance with the confirmation issued
by the Xxx Football Federation.
8.
In this respect, the Chamber acknowledged that the player was registered for the
Claimant from 15 January 1990 until 22 November 1994, i.e. during 6 months of
the season 1989/1990 (the season of his 13th birthday), the entire season
1990/1991 (the season of his 14th birthday), the entire season 1991/1992 (the
season of his 15th birthday), the entire season 1992/1993 (the season of his 16th
birthday), the entire season 1993/1994 (the season of his 17th birthday) and 5
months of the season 1994/1995 (the season of his 18th birthday).
9.
In view of all of the above, the Chamber concluded that the Claimant is entitled
to receive the proportion of 36,66% of 5% of the amount of EUR 2,000,000 as
solidarity contribution. Therefore, the Chamber decided that the Respondent
must pay to the Claimant the amount of EUR 36,660 and thus the Claimant’s
claim is partially accepted.
III.
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the Claimant, AAA, is partially accepted.
Solidarity contribution for the transfer of the player CCC
(AAA, Xxx / Club BBB, Xxx)
3
2.
The Respondent, BBB, must pay the amount of EUR 36,660 to the Claimant, AAA,
within 30 days as from the date of notification of this decision.
3.
In the event that the above-mentioned amount 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 present matter shall be submitted, upon
request, to FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee, so that the necessary disciplinary
sanctions may be imposed.
4.
Any further claim of the Claimant, AAA, is rejected.
5.
The Claimant, AAA, is instructed to inform the Respondent, BBB, 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. 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
Deputy Secretary General
Encl.
CAS directives
Solidarity contribution for the transfer of the player CCC
(AAA, Xxx / Club BBB, Xxx)
4