Solidarity Contribution
Texto da decisão
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 14 September 2007,
in the following composition:
Slim Aloulou (Tunisia), Chairman
Theo van Seggelen (Netherlands), member
Gerardo Movilla (Spain), member
Rinaldo Martorelli (Brazil), member
Joaquim Evangelista (Portugal), member
Philippe Diallo (France), member
Ivan Gazidis (USA), member
Percival Majavu (South Africa), member
Essa M. Saleh Al-Housani (UAE), member
in a dispute between the club
A, xxxxx
represented by Mr xxxxx, attorney at law,
as Claimant
against the club
B, xxxxx
as Respondent
regarding a dispute for solidarity contribution in connection with
the transfer of the player Z.
I.
Facts of the case:
1.
The Football Association of xxxx confirmed that the player Z, born on 15
December 1982, was registered with A, the Claimant, as from 18 March 1993 until
21 March 1995.
2.
On 18 October 2006, the Claimant contacted FIFA claiming its proportion of the
solidarity contribution in connection with the transfer of the player to the club B,
the Respondent, in July 2006 for the amount of EUR 5,000,0000.
3.
On 31 October 2006, the Respondent, informed FIFA about its willingness to solve
the matter in an amicable way and offered to pay the amount of EUR 25,000 to
the Claimant on 30 March 2007 as solitarily contribution for the player.
4.
In November 2006, the Claimant accepted the proposal of the Respondent to pay
the amount of EUR 25,000 on 30 March 2007 in order to settle the matter at stake.
5.
In July 2007, the Claimant informed FIFA that the Respondent did not adhere to its
proposal and requested the intervention of FIFA so as to receive the acknowledge
amount plus the amount of EUR 1,250 as interest.
6.
FIFA contacted several times the Respondent through the xxxx Football
Federation, however, never received any answer at all.
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 18 October
2006, as a consequence the Chamber concluded that the revised Rules Governing
Procedures (edition 2005) 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
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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 Z to the Respondent.
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 July 2006. Equally the Chamber took note that the claim was
lodged at FIFA in October 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 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 during the procedures of the present
matter the Respondent had offered to pay to the Claimant the amount of EUR
25,000 on 30 March 2007 in order to settle the matter at stake in connection with
the solidarity contribution for the player Z.
6.
Equally, the Chamber took due note of the fact that the Claimant accepted the
proposal made by the Respondent. However, the Respondent appears to not have
complied with its proposal, i.e. the Respondent did not adhere to the amicable
agreement and did not pay the agreed amount on 30 March 2007.
7.
In view of the above, the Chamber duly noted that the Claimant requests the
agreed amount of EUR 25,000 plus the amount of EUR 1,250 as interest.
8.
In this respect, the Chamber reproached the behaviour of the Respondent, who
never took position in the dispute, despite having been asked to do so by the FIFA
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administration on several occasions. In this way the Respondent renounced to its
right to defence and accepts the allegations of the Claimant.
9.
In view of all of the above, the Chamber decided that the Respondent has to pay
to the Claimant as solidarity contribution the amount of EUR 25,000 mutually
agreed between the parties of the present dispute.
10.
Finally, and with regard to the claimed interest in the amount of EUR 1,250 the
Chamber considered the parties had agreed that the amount of EUR 25,000 would
have been paid on 30 March 2007 and concluded that the Respondent must pay
5% default interest per year as form 31 March 2007 until the effective date of
payment to the Claimant.
III.
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the Claimant, A, is partially accepted.
2.
The Respondent, B, has to pay the amount of EUR 25,000 plus 5% interest as from
31 March 2007 until the effective date of payment to the Claimant.
3.
The amount due to the Claimant has to be paid by the Respondent within 30
days as from the date of notification of this decision.
4.
If the aforementioned amount 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.
5.
Any further claims lodged by the Claimant are rejected.
6.
The Claimant is directed to inform the Respondent 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.
7.
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
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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:
Court of Arbitration for Sport
Avenue de Beaumont 2
CH-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
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