Training Compensation
Texto da decisão
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 10 August 2007,
in the following composition:
Slim Aloulou (Tunisia), Chairman
Michele Colucci (Italy), member
Mick McGuire (England), member
Mario Gallavotti (Italy), member
Mohamed Mecherara (Algeria), member
on the claim presented by
the club, X, A,
as Claimant
against
the club, Y, B,
as Respondent
regarding a training compensation dispute related
to the transfer of the player Q.
I.
Facts of the case
1.
The player, Q, was born on 1 October 1983.
2.
According to the Football Federation of A, the player was registered with its
affiliated club X from 6 February 2004 to 7 February 2005.
3.
According to the written confirmation of the Football Federation of A dated 9
August 2007, its affiliated club X was classified as a category 2 club during the
period of time the player was registered with the said club.
4.
The player signed a contract as a professional player with the club, Y, valid from
15 January 2005 up to 31 December 2005. According to the Football Association of
B, he was registered for the club Y on 3 February 2005.
5.
On 26 March 2006, X lodged a claim against Y in front of the Dispute Resolution
Chamber to claim training compensation, as well as 5% interest per annum on the
applicable amount as of the date on which the relevant payment fell due, for the
player, Q, based on the Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players (2001
edition).
6.
On 11 April 2006, in reply to the claim, Y requested that X’s claim be rejected, as
the duration of the contract concluded between the player, Q, and Y was for less
than a year and the player was free when he signed the employment contract in
question.
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 paras. 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 26 March 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 para. 1 of the abovementioned Rules states that the Dispute Resolution Chamber shall examine its
Training Compensation for the player Q
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jurisdiction in the light of arts. 22 to 24 of the current version of the Regulations
for the Status and Transfer of Players (edition 2005). In accordance with art. 24
para. 1 in combination 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 training compensation.
3.
As a consequence, the Dispute Resolution Chamber is the competent body to
decide on the present litigation concerning the training compensation claimed by
the Claimant for the training and education of the player Q.
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 paras. 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 Y on 3 February 2005. Equally the Chamber took note
that the claim was lodged at FIFA on 26 March 2006. 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.
In continuation, and entering into the substance of the matter, the members of
the Chamber started by acknowledging that the player Q was registered for the
club X from 6 February 2004 to 7 February 2005. Furthermore, the Dispute
Resolution Chamber took due note that, subsequently, the relevant player signed
a contract as a professional player with Y valid as of 15 January 2005, and that he
was registered for the said club on 3 February 2005.
6.
In this respect, the members of the Chamber referred to the contents of arts. 14
and 15 of the Regulations as well as art. 5 paras. 1 and 2 (a) and (b) of Chapter III
of the Regulations governing the Application of the Regulations (hereinafter:
Application Regulations), according to which, in principle, compensation for
training up to the end of the season of a player’s 21st birthday is due for the first
time when a player acquires non-amateur status and, afterwards, for every
transfer by means of which a player moves as a non-amateur up to the age of 23.
7.
With reference to the above, the Chamber pointed out that the player Q had been
trained during the season of his 21st birthday by X, and that he had been
transferred at the age of 22 from said club to the club Y, with which he had
signed a professional contract. Consequently, the Dispute Resolution Chamber
stated that the conditions for the payment of training compensation were in
principle fulfilled.
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8.
Having established the foregoing, the Chamber turned its attention to the
statement of defence of the club X, which had argued that no training
compensation was due in the present case since the duration of the contract
concluded between the player, Q, and Y was less than a year and because the
player had been free when he signed the employment contract in question.
9.
With regard to the relevant statements of the Respondent, the Dispute Resolution
Chamber was of the opinion that the arguments of Y were not founded on any
legal basis provided for in the applicable Regulations and did not constitute valid
legal reasons to refuse the payment of training compensation. In particular, the
Chamber held that the duration of an employment contract offered by a club to a
player was without effect on the relevant club’s potential obligation to pay
training compensation. Furthermore, with regard to the argument of the
Respondent, according to which the player was free when he signed the
employment contract with Y, the members of the Chamber pointed out that,
according to art. 17 of the Regulations, training compensation may also be
payable when a player moves as a non-amateur at the end of his contract (but
before reaching the age of 23), thus also when he is not anymore contractually
bound to his previous club.
10.
The above considerations led the members of the Dispute Resolution Chamber to
conclude that, in the present case, Y was liable to pay training compensation to X.
11.
With regard to the amount due to X, the Dispute Resolution Chamber referred to
art. 7 para. 1 of the Application Regulations, according to which, as a general rule,
the compensation for training and education shall be obtained by multiplying the
amount corresponding to the category of the training club for which the player
was registered by the number of years of training from ages 12 to 21. In this
regard, the Chamber recalled that, according to art. 5 para. 1 of the Application
Regulations, for the purposes of calculating compensation the training period
finishes at the end of the season of a player’s 21st birthday. Furthermore,
according to art. 7 para. 3 of the Application Regulations, the compensation for
training is generally based on the training and education costs of the country in
which the new club is located.
12.
Consequently, the Dispute Resolution Chamber firstly ascertained that, according
to the confirmation issued by the Football Federation of A, X was a category 2
club during the period of time it trained the player in question. Furthermore, the
Chamber established that the corresponding costs of the country in which the new
club is located, i.e. B, amount to USD 30,000 (cf. FIFA circular no. 826 dated 31
October 2002). The Chamber then acknowledged that the player had, until the
end of the season of his 21st birthday, been trained by X for 11 months. On
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account of the foregoing, the Dispute Resolution Chamber closed its deliberations
on the present matter by establishing that Y is liable to pay training compensation
in the amount of USD 27,500 to X. Furthermore, and taking into consideration the
claim of the Claimant, as well as art. 9 para. 1 of the Application Regulations, the
Chamber held that Y has to pay interest at the rate of 5% per annum on the said
amount as of the due date of the respective payment, i.e. as of the 31st day of the
registration of the player concerned with Y.
***
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III.
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim lodged by the Claimant, X, is accepted.
2.
The Respondent, Y, shall pay the amount of USD 27,500, as well as 5% interest
per annum as of the 31st day of the registration of the player with Y, i.e. 5 March
2005, to the Claimant, X, within 30 days following the date of notification of the
present decision.
3.
In the event that the above-mentioned amount plus interest is not paid within
the indicated deadline, the present matter shall be submitted to FIFA’s
Disciplinary Committee for its consideration and decision.
4.
The Claimant, X, is instructed to inform the Respondent, Y, directly and
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. 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
On behalf of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber:
Jérôme Valcke
General Secretary
Encl.
CAS directives
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