DRC Overdue Payables
Texto da decisão
REF. FPSD-15530
Decision of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed on 15 October 2024
regarding an employment-related dispute concerning the player Aldair
Adulai Djalo Balde
BY:
Angela COLLINS (Australia)
CLAIMANT:
Aldair Adulai Dajo Balde, Portugal
Represented by Berlin Sports Law
RESPONDENT:
Sanliurfaspor, Türkiye
Represented by Mr. Ercan Sevdimbaş
pg. 2
REF. FPSD-15530
I. Facts of the case
1.
On 12 January 2024, the Portuguese player, Aldair Adulai Djalo Balde (hereinafter: the
Claimant or the Player), and the Turkish club, Sanliurfaspor (hereinafter: the Respondent or
the Club) signed an employment contract, including an annexed “Additional Protocol”
(hereinafter: all together as the Employment Contract), valid as from 12 January 2024 until
30 June 2024.
2.
In accordance with the Employment Contract, the Respondent undertook to pay to the
Claimant inter alia:
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3.
EUR 50,000 for the 2023/24 football season in the following instalments:
o EUR 10,000 on 1 January 2024
o EUR 10,000 on 1 February 2024
o EUR 10,000 on 1 March 2024
o EUR 10,000 on 1 April 2024
o EUR 10,000 on 1 May 2024
EUR 2,500 bonus provided that the Club is not relegated.
EUR 1,000 bonus for each goal and each assist of the Player.
On 29 July 2024, the Claimant sent a default notice to the Respondent on the amount of
EUR 24,500 corresponding to the following remuneration:
“(…) the fourth and fifth monthly salaries, corresponding, respectively, to April and May
2024, the bonuses for remaining in the league and for the assists given by the Player, are
still overdue, being the total outstanding amount due to the Player EUR 24,500.”
4.
In the default notice, the Claimant provided the Respondent with 10 days to fulfil its
financial obligations.
II. Proceedings before FIFA
5.
On 9 August 2024, the Claimant filed the claim at hand before FIFA. A summary of the
parties’ position is detailed below.
a. Position of the Claimant
6.
According to the Claimant, the Respondent failed to pay the overdue payables following
the default notice.
7.
The Claimant stated that he was entitled to the following payments under the Employment
Contract:
pg. 3
REF. FPSD-15530
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8.
EUR 20,000 corresponding to unpaid salaries of April and May 2024;
EUR 2,500 corresponding to the Bonus for the team avoiding relegation, and
EUR 2,000 corresponding to the assists Bonus, given that the Claimant contributed with
two assists during the 2023/24 football season.
The requests for relief of the Claimant, were the following:
“a) Pay to the Claimant the amount of EUR 24,500 (twenty-four thousand and five hundred
Euros), corresponding to outstanding remuneration under the Contract;
b) Pay to the Claimant 5% interest p.a. on the amount of EUR 10,000 as of 02 April 2024,
until the date of effective payment;
c) Pay to the Claimant, 5% interest p.a. on the amount of EUR 10,000 as of 02 May 2024,
until the date of effective payment;
d) Pay to the Claimant 5% interest p.a. on the amount of UER, 4,500 as of 12 May 2024,
until the date of effective payment.
Moreover, the Claimant requests that the Dispute Resolution Chamber of the FIFA Football
Tribunal imposes the sanctions provided for by Art. 12bis of the FIFA RSTP upon the
Respondent.“
b. Position of the Respondent
9.
In its reply, the Respondent held that they had already paid the overdue payables to the
Claimant fulfilling their contractual obligations.
10. The requests for relief of the Respondent, were the following:
“The reasons explained above we kindly request you to decide judgment of dismissal about
the present case.
Consider the amounts paid and good faith of the Respondent while evaluating the Claimant
requests according to the reasons explained above and according to the bank receipts
which was provided by the Respondent and setoff the mentioned amount from the
Claimant’s requests.
Finally, we would like to request your honorable chamber to make a decision that the
judicial costs and the attorneyship fees that the Respondent is faced with shall be paid by
the Claimant.
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REF. FPSD-15530
If not, to award a minimum amount of procedural cost in connection with the temporary
amendment to the Procedural Rules declared with the Circular 1720.”
pg. 5
REF. FPSD-15530
III. Considerations of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
a. Competence and applicable legal framework
11. First of all, the Single Judge (hereinafter: the Single Judge) analysed whether she was
competent to deal with the case at hand. In this respect, she took note that the present
matter was presented to FIFA on 9 August 2024 and submitted for decision on 15 October
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.
12. Furthermore, the Single Judge 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 par. 1 lit. b) of the
Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (June 2024 edition), she is competent to
deal with the matter at stake, which concerns an employment-related dispute with an
international dimension between a Portuguese player and a Turkish club.
13. Subsequently, the Single Judge analysed which regulations should be applicable as to the
substance of the matter. In this respect, she confirmed that, in accordance with art. 26 par.
1 and 2 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (June 2024 edition), and
considering that the present claim was lodged on 9 August 2024, the June 2024 edition of
said regulations (hereinafter: the Regulations) is applicable to the matter at hand as to the
substance.
b. Burden of proof
14. The Single Judge 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 Single Judge
stressed the wording of art. 13 par. 4 of the Procedural Rules, pursuant to which she 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
15. Having established the competence and the applicable regulations, the Single Judge
entered into the merits of the dispute. In this respect, the Single Judge started by
acknowledging all the above-mentioned facts as well as the arguments and the
documentation on file. However, the Single Judge emphasised that in the following
considerations she will refer only to the facts, arguments and documentary evidence,
which she considered pertinent for assessing the matter at hand.
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REF. FPSD-15530
i. Main legal discussion and considerations
16. The Single Judge then moved to the substance of the matter and took note of the fact that
this is a claim of a player against a club for overdue payables.
17. According to the Claimant, the Respondent failed to pay his salaries corresponding to April
and May 2024 under the Employment Contract, as well as two bonuses: one for the team
avoiding relegation and another for the Claimant contributing with two assists, both during
the 2023/24 season.
18. The Respondent, for its part, did not dispute occurrence of the events triggering the two
conditional payments.
19. In this context, the Single Judge acknowledged that her 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.
20. The Single Judge first noted 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.
21. Nonetheless, the Single Judge noted that the Respondence failed to provide any evidence
that the claimed amounts were paid.
22. In particular, the Single Judge noted that the Respondent referred to payment receipts as
“Annex-1” in its reply but no such Annex was attached to the reply.
23. Furthermore, no reasonable justification was presented by the Respondent for not having
complied with the terms of the contract.
24. In view of the foregoing and bearing in mind the basic legal principle of pact sunt servanda,
which in essence means that agreements must be respected by the parties in good faith,
the Respondent is held liable to pay the Claimant the outstanding amounts deriving from
the Employment Contract concluded between the parties.
ii. Consequences
25. The Single Judge observed that the financial obligations deemed as outstanding in the
present case correspond to:
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EUR 20,000 corresponding to unpaid salaries of April and May 2024;
EUR 2,500 corresponding to the Bonus for the team avoiding relegation, and
pg. 7
REF. FPSD-15530
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EUR 2,000 corresponding to the assists Bonus, given that the Claimant contributed with
two assists during the 2023/24 football season.
26. As a consequence, and in accordance with the general legal principle of pacta sunt servanda,
the Single Judge decided that the Respondent is liable to pay to the Claimant the amounts
claimed as outstanding under the contract, in total 24,500, as detailed above.
27. In addition, taking into consideration the Claimant’s request as well as the constant practice
of the Single Judge in this regard, the latter decided to award the Claimant interest at the
rate of 5% per annum on the outstanding amounts as follows:
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EUR 10,000 plus 5% interest p.a. as from 2 April 2024 until the date of effective payment;
EUR 10,000 plus 5% interest p.a. from 2 May 2024 until the date of effective payment;
EUR 4,500 plus 5% interest p.a. from 1 July 2024 until the date of effective payment.
iii. Art. 12bis of the Regulations
28. In continuation, the Single Judge 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.
29. To this end, the Single Judge confirmed that the Claimant put the Respondent in default of
payment of the amounts sought, which had fallen due more than 30 days before, and
granted the Respondent a 10-day deadline to cure such breach of contract.
30. Accordingly, the Single Judge confirmed that the Respondent had delayed a due payment
without a prima facia contractual basis. It followed that the criteria enshrined in art. 12bis
of the Regulations was met in the case at hand.
31. The Single Judge further established that by virtue of art. 12bis par. 4 of the Regulations she
has competence to impose sanctions on the Respondent. On account of the above and
bearing in mind that this is the first offense by the Respondent within the last two years,
the Single Judge decided to impose a warning on the Respondent in accordance with art.
12bis par. 4 lit. a) of the Regulations.
32. In this connection, the Single Judge highlighted that a repeated offence will be considered
as an aggravating circumstance and lead to a more severe penalty in accordance with art.
12bis par. 6 of the Regulations.
iv. Compliance with monetary decisions
33. Finally, taking into account the applicable Regulations, the Single Judge referred to art. 24
par. 1 and 2 of the Regulations, which stipulate that, with its decision, the pertinent FIFA
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REF. FPSD-15530
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.
34. In this regard, the Single Judge 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.
35. Therefore, bearing in mind the above, the Single Judge 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.
36. 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.
37. The Single Judge 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
38. The Single Judge 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 Single Judge decided that no procedural costs were to be
imposed on the parties.
39. Likewise, and for the sake of completeness, the Single Judge recalled the contents of art.
25 par. 8 of the Procedural Rules and decided that no procedural compensation shall be
awarded in these proceedings.
40. Lastly, the Single Judge concluded its deliberations by rejecting any other requests for relief
made by any of the parties.
pg. 9
REF. FPSD-15530
IV. Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the Claimant, Aldair Adulai Djalo Balde, is partially accepted.
2.
The Respondent, Sanliurfaspor, must pay to the Claimant the following amounts:
- EUR 10,000 as outstanding remuneration plus 5% interest p.a. as from 2 April 2024 until the
date of effective payment;
- EUR 10,000 as outstanding remuneration plus 5% interest p.a. as from 2 May 2024 until the
date of effective payment;
- EUR 4,500 as outstanding remuneration plus 5% interest p.a. as from 1 July 2024 until the
date of effective payment.
3.
Any further claims of the Claimant are rejected.
4.
A warning is imposed on the Respondent.
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
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REF. FPSD-15530
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
Fédération Internationale de Football Association – Legal & Compliance Division
396 Alhambra Circle, 6th floor, Coral Gables, Miami, Florida, USA 33134
legal.fifa.com | [email protected] | T: +41 (0)43 222 7777
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