DRC Overdue Payables
Texto da decisão
REF. FPSD-12661
Decision of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed on 18 April 2024
regarding an employment-related dispute concerning the player
Nikita Vladimirovich Chagrov
COMPOSITION:
Martín AULETTA (Argentina), Deputy Chairperson
Roy VERMEER (The Netherlands), member
Khalid AWAD ALTHEBITY (Saudi Arabia), member
CLAIMANT:
Nikita Vladimirovich Chagrov , Russia
Represented by Anton Smirnov
RESPONDENT:
Okzhetpes, Kazakhstan
pg. 2
REF. FPSD-12661
I. Facts of the case
1.
On 1 February 2023, the Russian player, Nikita Vladimirovich Chagrov (hereinafter: Claimant
or player) and the Kazakhstani club, Okzhetpes (hereinafter: club or Respondent) concluded
an employment contract (hereinafter: contract) valid as from 1 February 2023 until 1
November 2023.
2.
According to the contract, the Respondent undertook to pay the Claimant a monthly base
salary of KZT 2,216,670 gross which amounts to KZT 1,995,003 net.
3.
On 1 March 2023, the player and a club concluded an additional agreement which
established the number of bonuses for the matches of the sports season of 2023.
4.
On 23 October 2023, the Claimant sent a default notice to the club, requesting payment of
his outstanding dues.
II. Proceedings before FIFA
5.
On 14 November 2023, the Claimant filed the claim at hand before FIFA. A brief summary
of the position of the parties is detailed in continuation.
a. Position of the Claimant
6.
The requests for relief of the Claimant, were the following:
-
“collect from the Club in favor of the Football Player the debt on salary for September 2023 in
the amount of 1 995 003 (One million nine hundred ninety-five thousand three) tenge net and
the interest for delay in payment in accordance with Article 113 of the Labor Code of the RK in
the amount of 18% per annum, starting from 11 October 2023, to the date of actual repayment
-
collect from the Club in favor of the Football Player the debt on salary for October 2023 in the
amount of 1995 003 (One million nine hundred ninety-five thousand three) tenge net and the
interest for delay in payment in accordance with Article 113 of the Labor Code of the RK in the
amount of 18% per annum, starting from 4 November 2023, to the date of actual repayment.
-
collect from the Club in favor of the Football Player the debt on compensation payment for the
days of annual paid leave that were unused by the Football Player in accordance with clause 2
of Article 96 of the Labor Code of the RK in the amount of 1 812 513 ( One million eight hundred
twelve thousand five hundred thirteen) tenge 67 tiyn net as well as the interest for the delay in
payment in accordance with Article 113 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the
amount of 18% per annum, starting from 4 November 2023, to the date of actual repayment.
pg. 3
REF. FPSD-12661
-
collect from the Club in favor of the Football Player the debt on the reimbursement of medical
expenses incurred by him in connection with getting a sports injury in the amount of 128 098
(One hundred twenty-eight thousand ninety-eight) Russian rubles, as well as the interest for the
delay in payment in accordance with Article 113 of the Labor Code of the RK in the amount of
18% per annum, starting from 4 November 2023, to the date of the actual repayment.
-
collect from the Club in favor of the Football Player the debt on the reimbursement of travel
expenses in the amount of 32 381 (Thirty-two thousand three hundred and eighty-one) Russian
rubles as well as the interest for the delay in payment in accordance with Article 113 of the Labor
Code of the RK in the amount of 18% per annum, starting from 4 November 2023, to the date
of the actual repayment.
-
to impose a fine on the Club in accordance with paragraph 4. Art. 12bis of the FIFA Regulations
on the status and transfer of players.
-
Bonus payments for matches of the sports season 2023 in the amount of KZT 1,750,001”
7.
In his claim, the player, inter alia, argued that:
-
the club failed to pay his salary, bonuses, and to provide aid for a sports injury which he suffered
in June
he is seeking reimbursement for medical expenses, travel costs, and compensation for unused
annual leave the club is obligated to pay compensation for unused annual leave days, as
outlined in the Employment Contract and Labor Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan
the club also owes him a significant amount of money for unpaid salaries, bonuses, medical
expenses, and travel expenses
the Labor Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan requires the employer to pay any amounts
due to the employee within three working days of termination
-
-
b. Position of the Respondent
8.
In its reply, the club disputes the player's claim, stating that he has been paid according to
the terms of the contract in the total amount of KZT 16,710,000 KZT, as follows:
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Date
06.03.2023
03.04.2023
04.04.2023
11.04.2023
20.04.2023
03.05.2023
17.05.2023
19.06.2023
Pay order
No. 117
No. 199
No. 204
No. 234
No. 272
No. 307
No. 354
No. 427
Amount
500 000 KZT
500 000 KZT
1995000 KZT
500 000 KZT
1 995 000 KZT
250 000 KZT
500 000 KZT
1995000 KZT
pg. 4
REF. FPSD-12661
9
10
9.
19.06.2023
17.07.2023
No. 432
No. 534
1 995 000 KZT
1995000 KZT
11
16.08.2023
12
09.10.2023
13
26.10.2023
Total:
No. 648
No. 746
No. 796
500 000 KZT
1990000 KZT
1 995 000 KZT
16 710 000 KZT
As to the bonus payments, the club disagreed with this claim and indicated that the contract
and additional agreement did not guarantee the payment to the player, the player failed
to provide additional documents such as official match reports and head coach reports.
10. As to compensation for unused labor leave, the club stated the following:
-
This requirement is also inappropriate and does not find contractual basis.
-
Following the jurisprudence of the DRC, unused holidays cannot entail the entitlement of the employee to
receive moneys that exceed the value of the contract
-
As evidence of these allegations, we refer to the point 16 of decision of the DRC FIFA, passed on August 24,
2022 in the case FPSD-6525 Player Aleksandr Kleshchenko, Russia/Football Club Ordabasy, ü Kazakhstan
-
We pay attention that DRC decision of case FPSD-6525 was not appealed against before the Court of
Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Consequently, the decision, including the refusal the requirement of
compensation for unused vacation, was recognized by the parties.
11. The club indicated that it is not liable to pay the medical expenses of the player as the player
did not proof that his injury was sustained during a match or training.
12. In conclusion the club requested the following relief:
-
Approve the debt owed to the player in the amount of 1 245 027 KZT
-
Determine the interest for late payments in the amount of no more than 5% per annum, as required by
Swiss law
-
To recognize the justified compensation for an air ticket on the Astana- Moscow route in the amount of
15 816 rubles.
-
Reject all other Player's requirements
c. REACTION OF THE CLAIMANT TO ALLEGED PAYMENTS
13. In his replica, the Claimant, inter alia, mentioned that the club in its reply to the claim misled
FIFA by providing inaccurate information and incorrect calculations.
pg. 5
REF. FPSD-12661
III. Considerations of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
a. Competence and applicable legal framework
14. First of all, the Dispute Resolution Chamber (hereinafter also referred to as Chamber or
DRC) analysed whether it was competent to deal with the case at hand. In this respect, it
took note that the present matter was presented to FIFA on 14 November 2023 and
submitted for decision on 18 April 2024. Taking into account the wording of art. 34 of the
March 2023 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.
15. Subsequently, the members of the Chamber 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 February 2024 edition, the Dispute
Resolution Chamber is competent to deal with the matter at stake, which concerns an
employment-related dispute with an international dimension between an Russian player
and a Kazakh club.
16. Subsequently, the Chamber analysed which regulations should be applicable as to the
substance of the matter. In this respect, it confirmed that, in accordance with art. 26 par. 1
and 2 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (February 2024 edition), and
considering that the present claim was lodged on 14 November 2023, the May 2023 edition
of said regulations (hereinafter: the Regulations) is applicable to the matter at hand as to
the substance.
b. Burden of proof
17. The Chamber 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. Likewise, the Chamber stressed
the wording of art. 13 par. 4 of the Procedural Rules, pursuant to which it may consider
evidence not filed by the parties, including without limitation the evidence generated by or
within the Transfer Matching System (TMS).
c. Merits of the dispute
18. Its competence and the applicable regulations having been established, the Chamber
entered into the merits of the dispute. In this respect, the Chamber started by
acknowledging all the above-mentioned facts as well as the arguments and the
documentation on file. However, the Chamber emphasised that in the following
considerations it will refer only to the facts, arguments and documentary evidence, which
it considered pertinent for the assessment of the matter at hand.
pg. 6
REF. FPSD-12661
i. Main legal discussion and considerations
19. The foregoing having been established, the Chamber moved to the substance of the
matter, and took note of the fact that the parties strongly dispute the payment of certain
financial obligations by the Respondent.
20. In this context, the Chamber acknowledged that its task was to determine, based on the
evidence presented by the parties, whether the claimed amounts had in fact remained
unpaid by the Respondent and, if so, whether the latter had a valid justification for not
having complied with its financial obligations.
21. The Chamber noted that the player argued that the club failed to fully comply with its
contractual obligations, he claims to be entitled to outstanding salaries, bonuses,
compensation for unused annual leave, medical and travel expenses.
22. The Chamber further noted that the club disputes the player's claim, stating that he has
been paid according to the terms of the contract in the total amount of KZT 16,710,000
KZT.
23. The Chamber remarked that in the case at hand the Respondent bore the burden of
proving that it indeed complied with the financial terms of the contract concluded between
the parties. Nonetheless, the evidence provided by the Respondent cannot establish the
payment of the amounts claimed as outstanding by the Claimant.
24. On analysis of the documentation on file, the Chamber mentioned that it is evident that the
club failed to fully pay the remuneration of the player for the period of his time at the club.
ii. Consequences
25. Having stated the above, the members of the Chamber turned their attention to the
question of the consequences of such unjustified breach of contract committed by the
Respondent.
26. As a consequence, and in accordance with the general legal principle of pacta sunt servanda,
the Chamber decided to award to the player, the remaining two monthly salaries corresponding to the player’s claim in the total amount of KZT 3,990,006.
27. Furthermore, the Chamber observed that the clause 2.1.6 of the contract stipulates that
the player is entitled to paid annual leave and as the club did not actually contest and/or
challenged the fact that the player had unused leave, specifically the amount claimed, the
Chamber decided to award to the player the amount of KZT 1,812,513.
28. As to the bonus payments, the Chamber took into account that the player based his
entitlement thereto on the additional agreement concluded between the parties. In this
pg. 7
REF. FPSD-12661
context, the Chamber remarked that it should be noted that the entitlement to these
bonuses is indeed stipulated in the additional agreement, moreover the player submitted
sufficient evidence of his participation in the exact matches for the sports season 2023
therefore his entitlement to the bonuses is awarded in the amount of KZT 1,750,001.
29. As to the Claimant’s request for reimbursement of medical expenses, the Chamber decided
to award the amount of KZT 128, 098 to the player, due to the contractual basis of said
benefit and the evidentiary proof submitted by the player of expenses incurred.
30. Likewise, the Chamber decided to award the amount of KZT 32 381 to the player as travel
expenses, due to contractual basis of said benefit and the evidentiary proof submitted by
the player of expenses incurred.
31. Lastly, the Chamber observed that the player requested to be awarded interest in line with
the Kazakhstani law, however up to a maximum of 18% p.a. In this respect, the Chamber
remarked that the player failed to submit supporting evidence, neither can the application
of the requested interest rate in the matter at hand be justified, therefore taking into
consideration the constant practice of the Chamber in this regard, the latter decided to
award the Claimant interest at the rate of 5% p.a. on the outstanding amounts as from the
respective due dates until the date of effective payment.
iii. Art.12bis of the Regulations
32. In continuation, bearing in mind the foregoing considerations, the Chamber referred to
art.12bis par. 2 of the Regulations, which stipulates that any club found to have delayed a
due payment for more than 30 days without a prima facie contractual basis may be
sanctioned in accordance with art. 12bis par. 4 of the Regulations. In this respect, the
Chamber confirmed that the Respondent failed to comply with its financial obligations in
line with the contract, without a prima facie justification, and was duly notified of the
contractual breach by the Claimant, who granted the Respondent at least 10 days to cure
its default, to no avail.
33. The Chamber established that by virtue of art. 12bis par. 4 of the Regulations it has
competence to impose sanctions on the Respondent.
34. Moreover, the Chamber referred to art. 12bis par. 6 of the Regulations, which establishes
that a repeated offence will be considered as an aggravating circumstance and lead to a
more severe penalty.
35. Bearing in mind the above and taking into account that this is a first offense of the
Respondent in the past two years, the deciding body decided to impose a warning on the
Respondent.
pg. 8
REF. FPSD-12661
iv. Compliance with monetary decisions
36. Finally, taking into account the applicable Regulations, the Chamber referred to art. 24 par.
1 and 2 of the Regulations, which stipulate that, with its decision, the pertinent FIFA
deciding body shall also rule on the consequences deriving from the failure of the
concerned party to pay the relevant amounts of outstanding remuneration and/or
compensation in due time.
37. In this regard, the DRC highlighted that, against clubs, the consequence of the failure to pay
the relevant amounts in due time shall consist of a ban from registering any new players,
either nationally or internationally, up until the due amounts are paid. The overall
maximum duration of the registration ban shall be of up to three entire and consecutive
registration periods.
38. Therefore, bearing in mind the above, the DRC decided that the Respondent must pay the
full amount due (including all applicable interest) to the Claimant within 45 days of
notification of the decision, failing which, at the request of the Claimant, a ban from
registering any new players, either nationally or internationally, for the maximum duration
of three entire and consecutive registration periods shall become immediately effective on
the Respondent in accordance with art. 24 par. 2, 4, and 7 of the Regulations.
39. The Respondent shall make full payment (including all applicable interest) to the bank
account provided by the Claimant in the Bank Account Registration Form, which is attached
to the present decision.
40. The DRC recalled that the above-mentioned ban will be lifted immediately and prior to its
complete serving upon payment of the due amounts, in accordance with art. 24 par. 8 of
the Regulations.
d. Costs
41. The Chamber 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 Chamber decided that no procedural costs were to be
imposed on the parties.
42. Likewise, and for the sake of completeness, the Chamber recalled the contents of art. 25
par. 8 of the Procedural Rules and decided that no procedural compensation shall be
awarded in these proceedings.
43. Lastly, the DRC concluded its deliberations by rejecting any other requests for relief made
by any of the parties.
pg. 9
REF. FPSD-12661
Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the Claimant, Nikita Vladimirovich Chagrov, is partially accepted.
2.
The Respondent, Okzhetpes, must pay to the Claimant the following amount(s):
(a) KZT 3,990,006 net as outstanding remuneration plus 5% interest p.a. as from the
respective due dates until the date of effective payment as follows:
- On the amount of KZT 1,995,003 net as from 11 October 2023
- On the amount of KZT 1,995,003 net as from 2 November 2023
(b) KZT 1,812,513 net as outstanding remuneration (unused leave) plus 5% interest p.a.
as from 14 November 2023 until the date of effective payment
(c) KZT 1,750,001 as outstanding bonus plus 5% interest p.a. as from 14 November 2023
until the date of effective payment
(d) RUB 160, 479 as medical and travel expenses plus 5% interest p.a. as from 14
November 2023 until the date of effective payment
3.
A warning is imposed on the Respondent.
4.
Any further claims of the Claimant are rejected.
5.
Full payment (including all applicable interest) shall be made to the bank account indicated
in the enclosed Bank Account Registration Form.
6.
Pursuant to art. 24 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, if full payment
(including all applicable interest) is not made within 45 days of notification of this decision,
the following consequences shall apply:
1. The Respondent shall be banned from registering any new players, either nationally or
internationally, up until the due amount is paid. The maximum duration of the ban shall
be of up to three entire and consecutive registration periods.
2. The present matter shall be submitted, upon request, to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee
in the event that full payment (including all applicable interest) is still not made by the
end of the three entire and consecutive registration periods.
7.
The consequences shall only be enforced at the request of the Claimant in accordance
with art. 24 par. 7 and 8 and art. 25 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players.
8.
This decision is rendered without costs.
For the Football Tribunal:
Emilio García Silvero
Chief Legal & Compliance Officer
pg. 10
REF. FPSD-12661
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 Governing the Football
Tribunal).
CONTACT INFORMATION
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pg. 11