Solidarity Contribution
Texto da decisão
Decision of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 25 August 2006,
in the following composition:
Slim Aloulou (Tunisia), Chairman
Carlos Soto (Chile), member
Michele Colucci (Italy), member
Mario Gallavotti (Italy), member
Mohamed Mecherara (Algeria), member
on the claim presented by
Club A, Country X
as Claimant
against
Club B, Country Y
as Respondent
regarding a solidarity mechanism dispute
in connection with the transfer of the player P.
I.
Facts of the case
1.
According to a written statement of the X Football Federation, the player P, born
on 9 February 1980, was registered with the Claimant from 4 March 1994 until 16
July 1996, i.e. for two sporting seasons and 4 months between the ages of 14 and
16.
2.
According to the Claimant, the player was transferred from club F to the
Respondent in 2004 for an alleged transfer compensation of EUR 4 Mio.
3.
On 15 July 2005, the Claimant lodged a formal complaint at FIFA claiming the
relevant proportion of the 5% payment regarding the contribution of the solidarity
mechanism.
4.
On 18 July 2005, FIFA invited the Respondent to start the distribution of the
relevant proportion of the 5% solidarity contribution to the Claimant according to
the applicable Regulations. Several correspondences by means of which FIFA
reminded the Respondent to either start the aforementioned distribution or to
submit its response to the claim as well as to submit a copy of the relevant
transfer agreement, remained without response.
5.
Upon FIFA’s ultimate reminder to the Respondent on 24 July 2006, the latter
informed FIFA on 3 August 2006 that the transfer compensation paid by it to the
player’s former club, F, amounted to EUR 4,9 Mio. The club did not submit any
further comments regarding the present claim and did not submit a copy of the
relevant transfer agreement.
6.
The Dispute Resolution Chamber is asked to decide on the amount due to the
Claimant as solidarity contribution.
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 15 July 2005, 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 on the matter at hand.
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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 two 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 player P 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 in the year 2004. Equally the Chamber took note that
the claim was lodged at FIFA on 15 July 2005. 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 on the case at
hand as to the substance.
5.
In continuation, and entering into the substance of the matter, the members of
the Chamber started by acknowledging the documentation contained in the file
and took note of the fact that the player involved, born on 9 February 1980, was
registered with the Claimant from 4 March 1994 until 16 July 1996, i.e. for two
sporting seasons and 4 months between the age of 14 and 16. Moreover, the
Chamber noted that the player concerned was allegedly transferred from the
club F to the Respondent in 2004 for a transfer compensation of EUR 4,9 Mio.
Furthermore, the Chamber took into consideration that the Claimant requests
payment of the relevant proportion of the 5% solidarity contribution according to
the applicable regulations and claims not having received any payment in this
respect. Finally, the Chamber noted that besides informing FIFA that the transfer
compensation amounted to EUR 4.9 Mio., the Respondent did not submit any
comments in response to the claim.
6.
As a consequence, the Chamber stated that by only informing FIFA about the
amount of the transfer compensation without submitting any further comments to
the claim, the Respondent had acknowledged that the transfer of the player
concerned to it had taken place and that the transfer compensation which has
to be taken into account, amounts to EUR 4,9 Mio. According to the general
procedural principles, the Respondent had, by not submitting any further
comments, not contested the allegations of the Claimant and had thus
accepted them.
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7.
In this regard, the Chamber underlined that the Claimant is claiming outstanding
solidarity contribution from the Respondent in connection with the transfer of the
player P from club F to the Respondent in 2004 for a transfer compensation of EUR
4,9 Mio for the period that the player was registered with it between the age of
14 to 16.
8.
In this regard, the Chamber referred to art. 25 par. 1 of the Regulations.
According to this article, if a non-amateur player moves during the course of a
contract, a proportion (5%) of any compensation paid to the previous club will
be distributed to the club(s) involved in the training and education of the player.
This distribution will be made in proportion to the number of years the player has
been registered with the relevant clubs between the ages of 12 and 23.
9.
In the present case, the Chamber outlined that the period to be taken into
consideration is from 4 March 1994 to the end of the season 1994/1995 at the
player’s age of 14 and the seasons 1994/1995 and 1995/1996 at the player’s of 15
and 16. Consequently, the Chamber concluded that the period of effective
training to be taken into account corresponds to two sporting seasons and four
months.
10.
The Chamber further made reference to Art. 10 of the Regulations governing the
Application of the Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players which sets out
the proportions for the distribution of the solidarity contribution according to the
time that the player was effectively trained by the clubs involved.
11.
Therefore, the Chamber established that, in accordance with the breakdown
provided for in Article 10 of the Regulations governing the Application of the
Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players, the Claimant is entitled to
receive 21.67% of the 5% of the compensation paid in relation to the transfer of
the player from F to the Respondent.
12.
As a result, the Chamber concluded that in the present case, the Claimant is
entitled to receive solidarity contribution for the training and education of the
player during his age of 14 to 16 of totally 21.67% of the 5% of solidarity
contribution of the transfer compensation of EUR 4,9 Mio, i.e. the amount of EUR
53,067.
13.
In the light of all of the above, the Dispute Resolution Chamber decided that the
Respondent has to pay the amount of EUR 53,067 to the Claimant.
III.
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the Claimant is accepted.
2.
The Respondent has to pay the amount of EUR 53,067 to the Claimant.
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3.
The amount due to the Claimant has to be paid by the Respondent within the
next 30 days as from the date of notification of this decision.
4.
In the event that the debt of the Respondent is not paid within the stated
deadline, an interest rate of 5% per year will apply as of expiry of the
aforementioned deadline.
5.
If the sum of EUR 53,067 is not paid within the aforementioned deadline, the
present matter shall be submitted to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, so that the
necessary disciplinary sanctions may be imposed.
6.
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.
7.
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
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Enclosed: CAS directives
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