Labour Disputes
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 the player
F., K.,
as Claimant,
against the club
E., R.,
as Respondent,
regarding a contractual dispute arisen between the parties.
I.
Facts of the case
1.
On 29 December 2003, the player F. and the club E. signed an employment
contract for the period from 1 January 2004 until the end of the season
2003/2004. The parties agreed a total salary for the season 2003/2004 in the
amount of EUR 26,650, payable in five equal instalments of EUR 5,330 each.
2.
On 12 January 2004, E. signed a declaration, according to which it committed
itself to pay to the player F. the amount of EUR 10,000, should the main team of
the club rise to the first division from R. at the end of the season 2003/2004.
3.
At the end of the season 2003/2004 the club E. was promoted in the first
division.
4.
On 5 December 2005, the player F. informed FIFA that the promotion bonus in
the amount of EUR 10,000 had never been paid. Furthermore, the player
claimed that all salary instalments are still outstanding.
5.
Despite having been requested to do so by FIFA on several occasions, the club
E. has not submitted any statement.
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 5 December
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.
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 (b) of the aforementioned
Regulations, the Dispute Resolution Chamber shall adjudicate on employmentrelated disputes between a club and a player that have an international
dimension.
3.
As a consequence, the Dispute Resolution Chamber is the competent body to
decide on the present litigation involving a club from R. and a player from K.
related to a contractual dispute in connection with an employment contract.
4.
Subsequently, the members of the Chamber analysed which edition of the
Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players should be applicable as to the
Player F., K. / Club E., R.
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substance of the matter. In this respect, the Chamber referred, on the one
hand, to art. 26 par. 1 and 2 of the Regulations for the Status and Transfer of
Players (edition 2005) and, on the other hand, to the fact that the relevant
contract at the basis of the present dispute was signed on 29 December 2003,
respectively the club’s declaration on 12 January 2004, and the claim was
lodged at FIFA on 5 December 2005. 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.
In continuation, and entering into the substance of the matter, the members of
the Chamber started by acknowledging that the player and the club signed a
valid employment contract for five months valid until the end of the season
2003/2004. According to the relevant employment contract, the parties agreed
5 monthly salaries in the amount of EUR 5,330 each. Furthermore, in a
declaration dated 12 January 2004 the club committed itself to pay to the
player F. the amount of EUR 10,000 should the main team of the club rise to the
first division at the end of the season 2003/2004. The Chamber took note that at
the end of the season 2003/2004 the club E. was actually promoted in the first
division.
6.
The Chamber observed that the club E. never took position in the dispute,
despite having been asked to do so by FIFA on several occasions.
7.
Furthermore, the Chamber pointed out that no reply to the claim having been
received from the club E., the case shall be decided only on the basis of the
facts and evidence provided by the player F. In other words, a decision shall be
taken upon the basis of the documents on file.
8.
In this respect, the Chamber underlined that by failing to present a response to
the player’s claim, E. renounced its right to defence and thus, in principle,
accepts the allegations of the player.
9.
The Chamber took note that the claimed amounts concerning the salaries and
the bonus clearly correspond to the amounts foreseen in the employment
contract, respectively to the declaration of compromise signed by the club on
12 January 2004.
10.
Consequently, having thus analysed the various aspects of the player’s claim,
the Dispute Resolution Chamber concluded its deliberations by announcing
that the player’s claims were accepted.
11.
Taking into account all of the above, the Dispute Resolution Chamber decided
that E. must pay the amount of EUR 36,650 (EUR 26,650 corresponding to five
monthly salaries in the amount of EUR 5,330 each and EUR 10,000 corresponding
to the promotion bonus in the first division) to the player F.
Player F., K. / Club E., R.
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Player F., K. / Club E., R.
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III.
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the player F. is accepted.
2.
E. has to pay the amount of EUR 36,650 to the player F. within the next 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 and the present matter shall
be submitted to FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee, so that the necessary disciplinary
sanctions may be imposed.
4.
The player F. is instructed to inform E. 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.
5.
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:
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
Encl.
CAS directives
Player F., K. / Club E., R.
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