Solidarity Contribution
Texto da decisão
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 27 April 2007,
in the following composition:
Slim Aloulou (Tunisia), Chairman
Wilfried Straub (Germany), Member
Mario Gallavotti (Italy), Member
Joaquim Evangelista (Portugal), Member
Gerardo Movilla (Spain), Member
on the claim presented by the club,
X, XX,
represented by Mr UU, attorney at law,
as “Claimant”
against the club,
Y, YY,
as “Respondent”
regarding the solidarity contribution related to the transfer
of the player Z.
I.
Facts of the case:
1.
According to the official confirmation from the XXn Football Federation, the XXn
player, Z, born on 3 February 1980, was registered with the XXn club, X
(hereinafter: the Claimant), from 2 August 2001 until 30 June 2002 (player
passport).
2.
Furthermore, according to the official confirmation received from the YY Football
Federation, it registered the player in question on 8 July 2006 for its affiliate, Y
(hereinafter: the Respondent), following the player’s transfer from the XXn club,
R. Moreover, the YY Football Federation, after FIFA had asked the Respondent to
provide the relevant transfer contract, informed that the transfer compensation
agreed between the two clubs for the transfer of the player Z amounted to EUR
3’000’000.00. However, and despite FIFA’s several requests towards the
Respondent, no copy of the transfer contract was remitted to the Dispute
Resolution Chamber.
3.
On 2 July 2006, the Claimant contacted FIFA claiming from the Respondent 10% of
5% (0,5%) of the above-mentioned transfer compensation paid for the transfer of
the player in question plus 5% default interest in case the Respondent should fail
to comply with the FIFA Regulations regarding the payment of the solidarity
contribution. Moreover, it requested the reimbursement of all reasonable legal
costs.
4.
The Respondent omitted to expose its position to the claim lodged by the
Claimant, despite having been invited to do so by FIFA on several occasions.
5.
On 10 October 2006, the Claimant informed FIFA that it still did not receive the
relevant amount related to the solidarity contribution for the player in question
from the Respondent and asked again for the submission of the matter to the
Dispute Resolution Chamber.
Solidarity Contribution for the player Z
(Club X, XX / Club Y, YY)
2
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 submitted to FIFA on 2 July 2006, as
a consequence the Chamber concluded that the revised Rules Governing
Procedures (edition 2005) on matter pending before the decision making bodies of
FIFA are applicable on 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
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 connection with art. 22 (d) of the aforementioned
Regulations, the Dispute Resolution Chamber shall adjudicate on disputes
between clubs belonging to different Associations 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 during the course of a 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 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 on 8 July 2006. Equally the Chamber took note that the claim was
lodged at FIFA on 2 July 2006. In view of the aforementioned, the Chamber
concluded that the current FIFA Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players
(edition 2005, hereafter: the Regulations) are applicable on the case at hand as to
the substance.
5.
Once its competence was thus established, the Dispute Resolution Chamber went
on to deal with the substance of the case.
Solidarity Contribution for the player Z
(Club X, XX / Club Y, YY)
3
6.
The Chamber at first carefully studied the facts outlined above and emphasized
that, as established in art. 21 in combination with art. 1 of Annex 5 of the
Regulations, the new club, to which a player moves during the course of an
employment contract with his previous club, is responsible for the distribution of
5% of the compensation, with the exception of Training Compensation, it paid to
the player’s former club to the club(s) involved in the training and education of
the player between the seasons of his 12th and 23rd birthdays.
7.
In the present case, the Chamber outlined that according to the player passport
submitted by the XXn Football Federation, the period to be taken into
consideration went from 2 August 2001 until 30 June 2002, i.e. the time the player
in question had been registered with the Claimant during the season of his 22nd
birthday.
8.
In light of the above, the members of the Chamber concluded that the period of
effective training to be taken into account corresponds to 11 months.
9.
Therefore, the Chamber established that, in accordance with the breakdown
provided for in art. 1 of Annex 5 of the Regulations, the Claimant is basically
entitled to receive 9.166% of the 5% of the compensation paid in relation to the
transfer of the player Z from R to the Respondent.
10.
In this context, the deciding body noted in particular that the present file does not
contain any document pertaining to the transfer compensation paid by the
Respondent to R in connection with the international transfer of the player in
question. In this respect and for the sake of clearness, the Chamber recalled that,
as established in art. 21 and art. 1 of Annex 5 of the Regulations, the amount of
solidarity contribution is calculated on the basis of the compensation paid by the
player’s new club, i.e. the Respondent, to the player’s former club, i.e. R.
11.
In this respect, the Chamber unanimously reproached the behaviour of the
Respondent, who, despite having been asked to provide a copy of the relevant
transfer contract on several occasions, did not show any reaction to FIFA’s requests
and also omitted to provide its position towards the claim, after the amount in
question was effectively due.
12.
The members of the Chamber noted, however, that the YY Football Federation, by
means of its correspondence dated 31 August 2006, informed FIFA that its member
club, the Respondent, agreed with R on a transfer compensation amounting to
EUR 3’000’000.
13.
Taking into account the above, the Chamber reiterated that the Respondent, by
failing to provide its position during the course of the present procedure,
Solidarity Contribution for the player Z
(Club X, XX / Club Y, YY)
4
renounced to its right to defence and, in this way, accepted the information FIFA
received from the YY Football Federation, i.e. that the amount of compensation
the Respondent paid to R in order to acquire the services of the player in question
amounted to EUR 3’000’000.
14.
In view of the above, the members of the Chamber concluded that the amount to
be put at the basis for the calculation of the solidarity contribution is of EUR
3’000’000. Consequently, the members of the Chamber decided that the
Respondent must pay to the Claimant an amount of EUR 13’750 as solidarity
contribution related to the relevant transfer of the player in question.
15.
Furthermore, the Chamber made reference to art. 2 par. 1 of Annex 5 of the
Regulations, which reads that the new club shall pay the solidarity contribution to
the training club(s) pursuant to the above provisions no later than 30 days after
the player’s registration or, in case of contingent payments, 30 days after the date
of such payments.
16.
Consequently, in light of the fact that this payment has been due since the thirtyfirst day after the player’s registration with the Respondent, i.e. on 8 July 2006,
the Dispute Resolution Chamber established that a default interest payment of 5%
p.a. as from the day on which the payment was due, i.e. on 8 August 2006 at the
latest, must be applied.
17.
Turning its attention to the reimbursement of legal expenses claimed by the
Claimant, the Chamber referred to its well-established jurisprudence and rejected
the Claimant’s request in this respect.
18.
To conclude with, the Dispute Resolution Chamber decided that the Respondent
must pay to the Claimant the amount of EUR 13’750 plus 5% interest per year on
the outstanding amount starting on 9 August 2006 and applicable until the
effective date of payment to the Claimant.
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 EUR 13’750 to the Claimant, X.
3.
On the aforementioned amount default interest payment of 5% p.a. as from
9 August 2006 until the day of the payment is applied.
Solidarity Contribution for the player Z
(Club X, XX / Club Y, YY)
5
4.
The amount due to the Claimant, X, has to be paid by the Respondent, Y, within
30 days as from the date of notification of this decision.
5.
If the aforementioned sum is not paid within the aforementioned deadline the
present matter shall be submitted to FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee, so that the
necessary disciplinary sanctions may be imposed.
6.
The Claimant, X, is directed to inform the Respondent, Y, immediately of the
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
before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The statement of appeal must be
sent to the CAS directly within 21 days of receiving notification of this decision
and has to contain all elements in accordance with point 2 of the directives issued
by the CAS, copy of which we enclose hereto. Within another 10 days following
the expiry of the time limit for the filing of the statement of appeal, the appellant
shall file with the CAS a brief stating the facts and legal arguments giving rise to
the appeal (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:
Jérôme Valcke
General Secretary
Encl.
CAS directives
Solidarity Contribution for the player Z
(Club X, XX / Club Y, YY)
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