Solidarity Contribution
Texto da decisão
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 28 September 2007,
in the following composition:
Slim Aloulou (Tunisia), Chairman
Carlos Soto (Chile), member
Philippe Piat (France), member
Philippe Diallo (France), member
Zola Majavu (South Africa), member
on the claim presented by the club
A, AA,
represented by Mr Y, Attorney-at-Law, AA
as “Claimant”,
against the club
B, BB,
as “Respondent”,
regarding the solidarity contribution related to the international transfer of the player,
X.
I.
Facts of the case
1.
The player X was born on 15 October 1981.
2.
According to the confirmation from the AA-FA, the player was registered with A
from 16 July 1993 until 1 August 2001.
3.
On 7 December 2005, the AA club contacted FIFA to report that the player had
been transferred from C to B. On account of the above-mentioned period of
registration and in line with the relevant provisions of the Regulations for the
Status and Transfer of Players, the AA club lodged a claim for 54.99% of the 5%
solidarity contribution due from the transfer compensation payment agreed
between C and B.
4.
Despite several requests, on 15 December 2005 and 30 January 2006, the BB club
has not submitted a response to the claim. The club was also requested twice, on
20 February 2006 and 23 May 2006, to submit the transfer contract concluded with
C, but it also failed to reply to this request.
5.
On 25 August 2006, the Dispute Resolution Chamber decided that B must send to
FIFA a copy of the relevant transfer agreement between itself and C over the
transfer of the player X. This decision was notified on 24 November 2006.
6.
On 26 December 2006, the B turned for the first time to FIFA and informed that it
contacted the AA club in order to find a solution concerning the payment of the
solidarity contribution. The BB club enclosed in its statement the transfer contract
concluded between itself and C dated 8 February 2006. The compensation paid by
B to C for the player in question amounted to USD 1,200,000.
7.
On 28 December 2006, FIFA granted to the parties a final deadline until 31 January
2007 to find an amicable solution.
8.
On 14 February 2007, the AA club informed FIFA that by this date it had not
received any reaction from B concerning the payment of the amount due.
9.
Upon request the BB-FA confirmed that the player had been registered for its
affiliated club, B, already on 29 July 2005.
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
Solidarity contribution for the player X
(A, AA / B, BB)
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Governing the Procedures of the Players’ Status Committee and the Dispute
Resolution Chamber. The present matter was submitted to FIFA on 7 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 (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 X from C to B 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 29 July 2005. Equally, the Chamber took
note that the claim was lodged in front of FIFA on 7 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.
In continuation, and entering into the substance of the matter, the members
of the Chamber started to carefully study the facts outlined above and
emphasised that, as established in art. 21 of the Regulations in combination
with art. 1 of the Annex 5 to the Regulations, the new club to which a player
was transferred during the course of his contract has to distribute 5% of any
compensation paid to the player’s former club to the club(s) involved in the
training and education of the player in proportion to the number of years the
Solidarity contribution for the player X
(A, AA / B, BB)
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player has been registered with the relevant clubs between the sporting
seasons of his 12th and 23rd birthday.
6.
The Chamber subsequently took into account that, according to the AA-FA, the
player in question was born on 15 October 1981 and registered with the
Claimant as from 16 July 1993 to 1 August 2001.
7.
Moreover, the members of the Chamber noted that, according to transfer
contract concluded between C and B, the transfer compensation agreed to
USD 1,200,000.
8.
Taking into account the documents on file, the Chamber agreed that the Claimant
is entitled to receive solidarity contribution on the basis of art. 21 and Annex 5 of
the Regulations.
9.
Consequently, the Chamber proceeded with the calculation of the amount of
solidarity contribution payable by the Respondent to the Claimant. In this regard,
the Chamber decided that the transfer compensation of USD 1,200,000 shall be
taken as the basis for the relevant calculation.
10.
Taking into account all the above considerations, the Dispute Resolution
Chamber concluded that the Claimant is entitled to receive the amount of
USD 32,994 in the present case.
11.
In light of all of the above, the Chamber decided that the Respondent is liable to
pay the amount of USD 32,994 as solidarity contribution to the Claimant.
III.
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the Claimant, A, is accepted.
2.
The Respondent, B, has to pay the amount of USD 32,994 to the A.
3.
The amount due to A has to be paid by B within 30 days as from the date of
notification of the present decision.
4.
If B fails to comply with the above-mentioned deadline, an interest rate of 5% per
year will apply as of expiry of the stated time limit and the case will be presented
to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee for its consideration and decision.
Solidarity contribution for the player X
(A, AA / B, BB)
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5.
A is directed to inform B immediately of the account number to which the
remittance is to be made and to notify the Dispute Resolution Chamber of every
payment received.
6.
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
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
Solidarity contribution for the player X
(A, AA / B, BB)
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