Solidarity Contribution
Texto da decisão
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 27 April 2006,
in the following composition:
Slim Aloulou (Tunisia), Chairman
Philippe Piat (France), member
Carlos Soto (Chile), member
Jean-Marie Philips (Belgium), member
Wilfried Straub (Germany), member
on the claim presented by
the club, X
as Claimant
against
the club, Y
as Respondent
regarding solidarity contribution related to the transfer of the player Z
I.
Facts of the case
1.
The player, Z, was born on 02.02.1983.
2.
On 30 August 2004, W and Y concluded an agreement over the definite transfer
of the player, Z, to Y.
3.
In accordance with this contract, the parties agreed that a transfer
compensation to the amount of EUR 200,000 was payable by Y in the following
three instalments: EUR 100,000 on 15 October 2004, EUR 50,000 on 25
December 2004, and EUR 50,000 on 1 March 2005.
4.
According to the Football Association of X, Z was formerly registered with its
affiliated club X between the ages of 12 and 17, i.e. as from 2 February 1995
until 8 September 2000.
5.
On 30 January 2006, X formally lodged a claim against Y in front of FIFA on the
basis of article 25 of the former Regulations for the Status and Transfer of
Players (edition September 2001) regarding the payment of its proportion of
the solidarity contribution.
6.
Y does not dispute that X is entitled to its proportion of the solidarity
contribution.
7.
The solidarity contribution having remained unpaid, X requests that a formal
decision is passed by the Dispute Resolution Chamber in order to establish the
due amount and instruct the Respondent to proceed with the relevant
payment.
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 formally submitted to FIFA on 10
January 2006, 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.
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
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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 related to solidarity mechanism.
3.
As a consequence, the Dispute Resolution Chamber is the competent body to
decide on the present litigation concerning the distribution of the solidarity
contribution claimed by the Claimant in connection with the transfer of the
professional Z.
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 professional had been
registered for his new club in August 2004. In view of the aforementioned, the
Chamber concluded that the former FIFA Regulations for the Status and
Transfer of Players (edition 2001, hereafter: the Regulations) are applicable to
the case at hand as to the substance.
5.
Once its competence was thus established, the DRC went on to deal with the
substance of the case.
6.
The members of the Chamber duly noted that X claims payment of solidarity
contribution for the period as from 2 February 1995 until 8 September 2000 on
the basis of the transfer of the player, Z, from W to Y.
7.
Y, for its part, does not contest the claim for solidarity contribution put forward
by X.
8.
Consequently, the Chamber proceeded with the calculation of the amount of
solidarity contribution undisputedly payable by Y to X having ascertained that
the transfer of the player to Y was definitive.
9.
The Chamber emphasized that, as established in article 25 of the Regulations,
the new club, to which a player is transferred during the course of an
employment contract with his previous club, is responsible for the distribution
of 5% of the compensation payable to the player’s former club to the former
club(s) involved in the training and education of the player between the ages of
12 and 23. In the case at hand, in accordance with the relevant transfer
agreement, the transfer compensation amounts to EUR 200,000.
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10. The Chamber subsequently referred to art. 10 of the Regulations governing the
Application of the aforementioned Regulations, which provides the figures for
the distribution of the solidarity contribution, taking into consideration the
period of time that the player was effectively trained by the club concerned.
11. In the present case, the Chamber outlined that the period to be taken into
consideration, i.e. as from 2 February 1995 until 8 September 2000, is related to
the player’s age of 12 to 13 until the player’s age of 17-18 (only half of the part
pertaining to the player’s age of 17-18).
12. In view of the above, the Chamber concluded that 45% of the 5% solidarity
contribution shall be apportioned to X.
13. Having ascertained that the amount agreed upon by and between the
Respondent and W for the transfer of Z is EUR 200,000, 45% of the 5%
solidarity contribution amounts to EUR 4,500.
14. In light of the above, the Chamber decided that Y is liable to pay the amount of
EUR 4,500 as solidarity contribution to X.
III. Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the Claimant, X, is accepted.
2.
The Respondent, Y, shall pay the amount of EUR 4,500 to the Claimant, X,
within 30 days of notification of the present decision.
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3.
In the event that the amount of EUR 4,500 is not paid within the stated
deadline, an interest rate of 5% per year will apply as of expiry of the
aforementioned deadline and the case will immediately be presented to the
FIFA Disciplinary Committee.
4.
The Claimant is directed to inform the Respondent immediately of the account
number to which the remittance is to be made and to notify the Dispute
Resolution Chamber of every payment received.
5.
According to art. 60 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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