Solidarity Contribution
Texto da decisão
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 28 September 2006,
in the following composition:
Slim Aloulou (Tunisia), Chairman
Theo van Seggelen (Netherlands), member
John Didulica (Australia), member
Philippe Diallo (France), member
Essa M. Saleh al-Housani (United Arab Emirates), member
on the claim presented by
the club, X,
represented by Mr.
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 1 December 1974.
2. According to the Claimant, the player in question was registered with Y on 1
July 2005 after having been transferred from W involving the payment of a
transfer compensation of EUR 4 million.
3. With regard to this amount, the Claimant refers to the official web site of W on
which the amount of transfer compensation allegedly was disclosed.
4. On 13 December 2005, X turned to FIFA maintaining that the player, Z, having
been registered with X from the 1987-88 season (season of his 13th birthday)
until the 1994-95 season (season of his 20th birthday), it is entitled to receive
from Y the amount of EUR 130,000 as solidarity contribution corresponding to
65% of 5% of the transfer compensation on the basis of art. 21 and Annex 5 of
the FIFA Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players (edition 2005).
5. The above-mentioned period of registration has been confirmed by the
Football Federation of W.
6. During the investigation into this matter Y has failed to respond to the claim
lodged by X in spite of having been invited to do so twice.
7. On 27 September 2006, i.e. one day prior to the meeting of the Dispute
Resolution Chamber, FIFA received a fax from Y in which Y confirms that the
player was the object of a transfer agreement that it concluded with W on 12
May 2005, in accordance with which the clubs agreed on a transfer
compensation of EUR 4,000,000. Y asserts that the player was registered in the
country of Y as a professional player in the first half of July 2005. In addition, Y
acknowledges that the Claimant is entitled to receive 65% of the solidarity
contribution. Y is willing to pay to the Claimant the relevant amount of money
upon receipt of the necessary banking details of the Claimant and therefore,
asks that the Dispute Resolution Chamber does not deal with the matter at
hand on 28 September 2006.
8. The Dispute Resolution Chamber is asked to decide on the amount of
solidarity contribution payable by the Respondent to the Claimant, if any.
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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 13
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 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
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 related to solidarity mechanism between clubs
belonging to different Associations.
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 to the Respondent 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, as mentioned by the
Claimant and not disputed by the Respondent, in July 2005. Equally, the
Chamber took note that the claim was lodged at FIFA on 13 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 to the case at hand as to the substance.
5.
Once its competence was thus established, the Chamber went on to deal
with the substance of the case.
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6.
Firstly, the Chamber addressed the Respondent’s request not to hear the
present matter in the light of the contents of its fax dated 27 September 2006.
In this regard, the members of the Chamber decided to dismiss the
Respondent’s request taking into consideration the fact that the Respondent
has failed to present its position during the investigation of the present matter
and that such request has only been received one day prior to the hearing
of the matter.
7.
The members of the Chamber duly noted that the Claimant claims payment
of solidarity contribution for the period of time relating to the seasons of the
player’s 13th birthday (1987-88 season) until his 20th birthday (1994-95 season)
on the basis of the transfer of the player, Z, from W to the Respondent in 2005.
8.
The Respondent, for its part, does not contest the claim for solidarity
contribution put forward by the Claimant. In fact, the Respondent has
confirmed that the Claimant is entitled to receive 65% of the solidarity
contribution.
9.
Taking into account the above-mentioned elements, the Chamber agreed
that the Claimant is entitled to receive solidarity contribution on the basis of
art. 1 of Annex 5 of the Regulations.
10. Consequently, the Chamber proceeded with the calculation of the amount
of solidarity contribution undisputedly payable by the Respondent to the
Claimant.
11. The Chamber emphasized that, as established in art. 21 of the Regulations
and art. 1 of Annex 5 of the Regulations, the new club, to which a player is
transferred during the course of an employment contract, is responsible for
the distribution of 5% of the compensation paid to the player’s former club to
the club(s) involved in the training and education of the player over the
years. In the case at hand, the transfer compensation undisputedly amounts
to EUR 4,000,000.
12. The said art. 1 of Annex 5 of the Regulations provides the figures for the
distribution of the solidarity contribution taking into consideration the number
of years that the player was registered with the club(s) involved in his training
and education between the seasons of his 12th and 23rd birthdays .
13. In the present case, the Chamber outlined that the period to be taken into
consideration is related to the season of the player’s 13th until his 20th
birthday. Therefore, the Chamber concluded that 65% of the 5% solidarity
contribution shall be apportioned to the Claimant.
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14. Having ascertained that the amount agreed upon by and between the
Respondent and W for the transfer of the player Z is EUR 4,000,000, 65% of the
5% solidarity contribution amounts to EUR 130,000.
15. In light of the above, the Chamber decided that the Respondent is liable to
pay to the Claimant the amount of EUR 130,000 as solidarity contribution.
*****
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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 130,000 to the Claimant
within 30 days of notification of the present decision.
3.
In the event that the amount of EUR 130,000 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. 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
Enclosed: CAS directives
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