Training Compensation
Texto da decisão
REF TMS 6843
Decision of the
Single Judge of the sub-committee of
The Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed on 13 February 2021
regarding training compensation for the player Louie Mark Barry
BY:
Om ar Ongaro (Italy), Single Judge of the sub-committee of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber
CLAIMANT:
West Bromwich Albion FC, England
RESPONDENT:
FC Barcelona, Spain
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REF TMS 6843
I. FACTS OF THE CASE
Player:
Louie Mark Barry
Date of birth:
21 June 2003
Player passport:
issued by the The Football Association Ltd. on 30 June 2019
Season
2014-2015
Birthday
12th
Club
Claimant
2015-2016
13th
Claimant
2016-2017
14th
Claimant
2017-2018
15th
Claimant
2018-2019
16th
Claimant
Registration
01.07.201430.06.2015
01.07.201530.06.2016
01.07.201630.06.2017
01.07.201730.06.2018
01.07.201830.06.2019
Sporting season:
1 July to 30 June (England)
Date of transfer:
9 October 2019, England to Spain
Claimant club:
West Bromwich Albion FC (England)
UEFA, category I (EUR 90,000 per year)
Respondent club:
FC Barcelona (Spain)
UEFA, category I (EUR 90,000 per year)
Status
Amateur
Amateur
Amateur
Amateur
Amateur
Claim and Response:
1.
On 22 September 2020, the Claimant requested EUR 130,000 as training compensation based
on the player’s first registration as a professional with the Respondent before the end of his 23rd
birthday season.
2.
In its calculation, the Claimant took into consideration the costs of category IV clubs within UEFA,
i.e. EUR 10,000, for the seasons of the player’s 12th,13th,14th and 15 birthday and the average
of its and the Respondent’s categories, i.e. EUR 90,000, for the season of the player’s 16
birthday.
3.
The Claimant argued having offered the player a scholarship agreement on 13 February 2017
which the latter and his parents allegedly accepted on 20 February 2017.
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REF TMS 6843
4.
The Claimant added that, despite the above, the player finally decided to register with the
Respondent.
5.
In support of its allegations, the Claimant provided the following documentation:
- A “Scholarship Offer”, namely the PLYD Form 11 dated 13 February 2017, signed by the
“Academy Manager”, addressed to the player and providing, inter alia, that the Claimant
“hereby offer to enter into a Scholarship Agreement with you upon your reaching the statutory
school leaving age applicable in England”;
- A “Response to Scholarship Offer”, namely the PLYD Form 12 dated 20 February 2017, signed
by the player and his parent, addressed to the Claimant and providing, inter alia, that the player
“hereby accept your offer in PLYD Form 11 dated 13/02/2017”; and
- A letter of the English Football League (“EFL”) letter dated 7 April 2020, signed by the
“Governance and Legal Director” and providing, inter alia, that it “fully supports the Club’s
position and believes that Training Compensation is due in respect of the players transfer to
Barcelona”; “On or after 1st January in the year in which he attains the age of 14 years and in
any event on or before 31st December in his U16 year, a Club may offer to enter into a
Scholarship Agreement with an Academy Payer whose registration it holds”; “Failure by a Club
to honour any offer of a scholarship notified to the League without reasonable cause shall render
that Club liable to disciplinary action”; “the Club’s offer to Mr Barry was signed on 13th February
2017 and accepted by the Player on 20th February 2017, in line with the above process. Forms
PLYD11 and 12 were submitted and registered with the Premier League, the relevant League at
the time of submission, on 22nd February 2017”; and “By lodging the relevant paperwork with
the League the Club have protected its rights to claim compensation for the Player.”
6.
The Claimant deemed having followed the provisions set out in its country by offering the
relevant Scholarship contract to the player and that, by doing, it had safeguarded its right to
training compensation.
7.
On 5 October 2020, the FIFA administration made a proposal to the parties to settle the matter
suggesting that the Respondent should pay the Claimant the sum of EUR 130,000 as training
compensation, plus 5% interests p.a. as from 9 November 2019.
8.
The proposal was accepted by the Claimant and rejected by the Respondent.
9.
On 6 November 2020, the Respondent rejected the Claimant’s entitlement to receive training
compensation for the player arguing that the documentation provided by the latter (cfr. Point
I./5. above) merely indicated the intention of the Claimant and the player to accept a hypothetical
scholarship contract once he had reached the statutory school leaving age applicable in England.
10.
In its opinion, despite the player had reached the required age on 21 June 2019 and could
therefore formally enter into said scholarship contract as of 28 June 2019, in compliance with
the applicable regulations, the Claimant failed to make a binding offer to the Player. As such,
no scholarship agreement had been signed between the Claimant and the Player.
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11.
In addition, the Respondent sustained that the documentation provided by the Claimant could
not be considered as a contract offer in the sense of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer
of Players (RSTP) as it lacked essentialia negotii.
12.
The Respondent further held that the Claimant had failed to show a proactive, genuine and
bona fide interest in retaining the services of the player. According to the Respondent, the Forms
issued in 2017, when the Player was only 13 years old, did not indicate the Claimant’s interest
in keeping the player.
13.
From the Respondent’s point of view, the Claimant had not met the required burden of proof.
14.
Alternatively, the Respondent requested for any payment of training compensation to be limited
to the sum of EUR 115,000 given that that the Claimant was playing in the English second
division during the 2018-2019 season, which’s Category should be UEFA Category II (EUR
60,000).
II. LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS
Applicable law:
RSTP: October 2019 edition.
Procedural Rules: 2021 edition.
Jurisdiction:
Yes, uncontested
Admissible:
Yes, uncontested
Decision:
1.
The claim of the claimant is based on the player’s first registration as a professional with the
Respondent before the end of his 23rd birthday season.
2.
It is undisputed that the player was registered for the first time as a professional with the
Respondent on 9 October 2019.
3.
The Claimant is located in England and the Respondent in Spain, both countries being members
of the EU at the time of the player’s registration, hence art. 6 par. 3 of Annexe 4 RSTP is
applicable as lex specialis to the matter hand and the registration of the player with the
Respondent shall be considered a first registration of a professional player between two clubs
based within the EU/EEA.
4.
In accordance with the aforementioned provision, the former club of a player shall evidence that
it had made a contract offer to the latter during the course of his registration with it in order to
justify that it is entitled to training compensation. In very exceptional cases, the DRC has decided
that a club that has not offered a contract in the sense of art. 6 par. 3 of Annexe 4 RSTP may
retain its entitlement to training compensation by having shown a bona fide interest in keeping
the player.
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5.
In casu, the EFL confirmed on 7 April 2020 that the contractual terms of a scholarship agreement
are "dictated by the League on a seasonal basis".
6.
As a result, on 13 February 2017, when the Respondent submitted the relevant Form to the
player, the terms of the proposed scholarship agreement could have not been known to the
parties. Therefore, the form provided to the player on 13 February 2017 cannot be considered
as a contractual offer in the sense of the Regulations but rather an indication of the Claimant’s
intention to sign a scholarship agreement with the player once the latter reached the statutory
school leaving age applicable in England.
7.
No evidence was provided by the Claimant in support of the allegation that it was interested in
retaining the player’s services after the alleged acceptance of the form by the player and his
parents.
8.
In particular, no evidence was provided indicating that the Claimant would have remitted the
scholarship agreement to the player for signature on, around or after his 16th birthday, i.e. on
21 June 2019, when he reached the "statutory school leaving age applicable in England".
9.
In view of the aforementioned, and considering the lack of evidence that the Claimant would
have made an offer to the player in the sense of the Regulations or that it was in bona fide
interested in retaining his services, in line with Art. 12 par. 3 of the Procedural Rules it is
established that the requirements of art. 6 par. 3 sent. 1 of Annexe 4 of the RSTP are not met.
10.
As a result, the claim of the Claimant is rejected.
11.
No procedural costs are levied (cf. arts. 17 par. 1 and 18 par. 1 of the Rules Governing the
Procedure of the Players’ Status Committee and Dispute Resolution Chamber).
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DECISION
1.
The claim of the Claimant, West Bromwich Albion FC, is rejected.
2.
No procedural costs are payable (cf. arts. 17 par. 1 and 18 par. 1 of the Rules Governing the
Procedure of the Players’ Status Committee and Dispute Resolution Chamber).
For the Single Judge of the sub-committee of the Dispute Resolution Chamber:
Emilio García Silvero
Chief Legal & Compliance Officer
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NOTE RELATED TO THE APPEAL PROCEDURE:
Pursuant to article 58 paragraph 1 of the FIFA Statutes, this decision may be appealed before the Court
of Arbitration for Sport within 21 days of notification.
NOTE RELATED TO PUBLICATION:
FIFA may publish this decision. For reasons of confidentiality, FIFA may decide, at the request of a party
within five days of the notification of the motivated decision, to publish an anonymised or a redacted
version (cf. article 20 of the Procedural Rules).
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Fédération Internationale de Football Association
FIFA-Strasse 20 P.O. Box 8044 Zurich Switzerland
www.fifa.com | legal.fifa.com | [email protected] | T: +41 (0)43 222 7777
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