DRC - Preliminary Decisions
Texto da decisão
REF FPSD-3467
Decision of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed on 3 March 2022
regarding an employment-related dispute concerning the player Steffan
Cardona
BY:
Frans de Weger (The Netherlands), Chairperson
CLAIMANT:
Steffan Cardona, Gibraltar
RESPONDENT:
Mons Calpe SC, Gibraltar
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REF FPSD-3467
I.
Facts of the case
1.
The player Steffan Cardona (hereinafter: the Claimant) is a British footballer. He was born in
Gibraltar on 3 March 1992.
2.
The club, Mons Calpe SC (hereinafter: the Respondent) is a football club based in Gibraltar
and affiliated to the Gibraltar Football Association (GFA).
3.
On 1 August 2019, the Claimant and the Respondent concluded an employment contract
(hereinafter: the Contract) valid “for one football season”.
4.
According to Exhibit B of the Contract, the Claimant’s gross base salary is Gibraltar Pounds
(“GIP”) 800 per calendar month.
5.
On 16 July 2021, the Claimant put the Respondent in default requesting the amount of GIP
1,600, to no avail.
II. Proceedings before FIFA
6.
On 27 August 2021, the Claimant filed the claim at hand before FIFA.
7.
According to the Claimant, the Respondent failed to pay his salary from the start of the
Contract.
8.
The Claimant states that by December 2019 he decided to stop training, as he was not getting
paid and was owed 3 monthly salaries.
9.
The Claimant submits that the Respondent had breached its football contract with the
Claimant in failing to pay his salary on:
(a) 30 September 2019 – GIP 800
(b) 30 October 2019 – GIP 800
10. On 23 February 2022, FIFA general secretariat informed the Claimant that the Football
Tribunal did not appear to have jurisdiction to decide over the matter and that the case was
going to be referred to the chairperson of the Dispute Resolution Chamber for an expedited
decision.
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REF FPSD-3467
III. Considerations of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
11. First of all, the Chairperson of the Dispute Resolution Chamber (hereinafter also referred to
as Chairperson) analysed whether he was competent to deal with the case at hand.
12. In this respect, he took note that the present matter was presented to FIFA on 27 August
2021 and submitted for decision on 3 March 2022. Taking into account the wording of art.
34 of the October 2021 edition of the Procedural Rules Governing the Football Tribunal
(hereinafter: the Procedural Rules), the aforementioned edition of the Procedural Rules is
applicable to the matter at hand.
13. At the same time, the Chairperson confirmed that, in accordance with art. 19 par. 1 and 2 of
the Procedural Rules, he shall decide, in an expedited manner, whether the case at stake is
affected by any preliminary procedural matter (i.e. if the Football Tribunal obviously does not
have jurisdiction or if the claim is time-barred). Likewise, the Chairperson highlighted that, in
case the claim is not affected by any preliminary procedural matters, the FIFA general
secretariat would be ordered to continue the procedure (cf. art. 19 par. 3 of the Procedural
Rules).
14. Subsequently, the Chairperson referred to art. 2 par. 1 of the Procedural Rules and observed
that in accordance with art. 23 par. 1 in combination with art. 22 lit. b) of the Regulations on
the Status and Transfer of Players (August 2021 edition) (hereinafter: the Regulations), the
Dispute Resolution Chamber is competent to deal with disputes between clubs and players
with an international dimension.
15. The Chairperson emphasized, in other words, that this means that FIFA is only competent to
hear an employment-related dispute between a player and a club when the parties have
different nationalities, without which the international element of the dispute is not fulfilled.
16. As a consequence, in case the player has the same nationality from the country where the
club that holds his registration is based, the relevant dispute has to be considered a purely
internal (national) matter to be decided by the competent authorities in the respective
country. The Chairperson recalled that the jurisprudence of the Football Tribunal has adopted
the position outlined above in similar matters.
17. Having established the foregoing, the Chairperson recalled the basic principle of burden of
proof, as stipulated in art. 13 par. 5 of the Procedural Rules, according to which a party
claiming a right on the basis of an alleged fact shall carry the respective burden of proof. The
Chairperson turned then to the evidence on file, and observed that the Claimant admits to
have been born in Gibraltar, which is in turn a British Overseas Territory, and to hold British
nationality as well as that the Respondent is a club, based in Gibraltar and affiliated to the
GFA, i.e. the governing body for the sport of football in that territory.
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REF FPSD-3467
18. In this regard, the Chairperson observed that the claim lacks international dimension as
required by art. 22 lit b) of the Regulations. Hence, the Chairperson found that the Football
Tribunal is not competent to hear the dispute.
19. Lastly, the Chairperson referred to art. 25 par. 1 of the Procedural Rules, according to which
“Procedures are free of charge where at least one of the parties is a player, coach, football
agent, or match agent”. Accordingly, the Chairperson decided that no procedural costs were
to be imposed on the parties.
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REF FPSD-3467
IV. Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1. The Football Tribunal does not have jurisdiction to hear the claim of the Claimant, Steffan
Cardona.
2. This decision is rendered without costs.
For the Football Tribunal:
Emilio García Silvero
Chief Legal & Compliance Officer
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REF FPSD-3467
NOTE RELATED TO THE APPEAL PROCEDURE:
According to article 57 par. 1 of the FIFA Statutes, this decision may be appealed against before
the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 21 days of receipt of the notification of this
decision.
NOTE RELATED TO THE 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 17 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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