Labour Disputes
Texto da decisão
REF. FPSD-15794
Decision of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed on 11 December 2024
regarding an employment-related dispute concerning the player
Barrahma Elmehdi
BY:
Jorge GUTIÉRREZ (Costa Rica)
CLAIMANT:
Barrahma Elmehdi, Morocco
Represented by Younes Naoumi
RESPONDENT:
Kuwait SC, Kuwait
Represented by Global Sport Consulting
pg. 2
REF. FPSD-15794
I. Facts of the case
1.
On 20 June 2023, the Moroccan player Barrahma Elmehdi (hereinafter: the Claimant, the
Player or the Second Party) and the Kuwaiti club Kuwait SC (hereinafter: the Respondent, the
Club or the First Party) concluded an employment contract (hereinafter: the Contract) valid
as from 1 July 2023 until 30 June 2024.
2.
In accordance with the Contract, the Respondent undertook to pay to the Claimant as
follows:
“The second party shall receive a total amount of (700,000 dollars) only, seven
hundred US dollars, payable as follows:
An advance payment of $150,000 is paid to him, one hundred fifty thousand US
dollars from the value of the contract.
The remaining (550,000) five hundred fifty thousand dollars will be paid to him with a
monthly salary of (45,833) forty-five thousand eight hundred and thirty-three US
dollars only, as of 1/7/2023 AD until 30/06/2024. […]”
3.
In addition, the Claimant is entitled to the following pursuant to the Contract:
“[…] a furnished apartment, a car, and (4) business-class travel tickets for him and his
family, back and forth during the season.
The reward for winning the Kuwaiti Premier League, in the amount of $35,000, will be
spent only thirty-five thousand dollars.
The reward for winning the Prince of the Country Cup is only $30,000, thirty thousand
dollars.
The reward for winning the Crown Prince Cup will be spent $25,000 twenty-five
thousand dollars.
The reward for winning the AFC Championship is $50,000, fifty thousand US dollars.”
4.
On 13 July 2024, the Claimant and the Respondent concluded a document titled
“Acknowledgement of Receipt of Financial Dues”, in which the Claimant acknowledged having
received two cheques and its financial dues for the season 2023-2024.
5.
By correspondence dated 12 August 2024, the Claimant put the Respondent in default and
requested payment within 10 days of USD 45,833, corresponding to its monthly salary of
June 2024.
pg. 3
REF. FPSD-15794
II. Proceedings before FIFA
6.
On 28 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
7.
According to the Claimant, he is entitled to outstanding remuneration from the Respondent
of USD 45,833, corresponding to his monthly salary of June 2024, plus 5% interest p.a. as
from its due date until the date of effective payment.
b. Position of the Respondent
8.
According to the Respondent, it has already paid the Claimant his monthly salary of June
2024 and the latter therefore has no outstanding remuneration. In this regard, the
Respondent noted that it has paid the Claimant salaries for the duration of the Contract in
Kuwaiti Dinar (KWD) the equivalent amounts as per the Contract.
9.
With respect to the Player’s monthly salary of June 2024, the Club argued that it proceeded
with its payment by cheque on 31 May 2024 as the season ended on 27 May 2024 and the
Player wished to return to his home country.
10. In addition, the Club indicated that it proceeded with an additional payment of KWD 10,780
on 9 July 2024, which cleared the Club from any financial obligations towards the Player.
11. Lastly, the Club mentioned that the Player acknowledged on 13 July 2024 having received
all of his financial dues for the sporting season 2023-2024. In fact, the Club mentioned that
it has paid the Player USD 790,000 during the employment relationship, which corresponds
to more than what he was entitled to pursuant to the Contract.
12. Consequently, the Club requested to reject the claim.
c. Replica of the Claimant
13. In his replica, the Claimant argued that the Respondent attempted to mislead FIFA with
regard to the payments made, as it has never paid jointly the bonus and the salary in a
single cheque, except for the month of May 2024.
14. In addition, the Claimant indicated that the cheque dated 31 May 2024 submitted by the
Respondent, allegedly corresponding to the payment of the monthly salary of June 2024,
has been paid before the month of June began and only four days after the payment of the
remuneration for the month of May 2024.
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REF. FPSD-15794
15. Lastly, the Claimant argued that the so-called document “Acknowledgement of Receipt of
Financial Dues” dated 13 July 2024 is an acknowledgement of receipt of the cheques
specifically mentioned in the document, rather than a declaration that the Player has no
outstanding remuneration for the 2023/2024 season. The Claimant further pointed out
that in the original version of the document, the font and size of the writing are different
from those used to write the rest of the declaration, which means that the Respondent
retouched it after it was signed and even after the Club had drafted the English translation.
It is the Claimant’s position that the addition of the words “June 2024 saler” and “reward”
proves the falsification of the document.
d. Duplica of the Respondent
16. In its duplica, the Respondent reiterated its initial argumentation, noting that the Player did
not deny having received the amounts of the cheques dated 31 May 2024, which
correspond to the monthly salary of June 2024.
17. With respect to the Player’s allegation that the Club falsified the document dated 13 July
2024, the Respondent mentioned that the wording “June 2024 saler” and “reward” is an
internal reference of the Club's financial administration and that the basis of the text of the
document has not changed.
III. Considerations of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
a. Competence and applicable legal framework
18. First of all, the Single Judge of the Dispute Resolution Chamber (hereinafter: the Single Judge)
analysed whether he was competent to deal with the case at hand. In this respect, he took
note that the present matter was presented to FIFA on 28 August 2024 and submitted for
decision on 11 December 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.
19. 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 (October 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 a Moroccan player
and a Kuwaiti club.
20. Subsequently, the Single Judge analysed which regulations should be applicable as to the
substance of the matter. In this respect, he confirmed that, in accordance with art. 26 par.
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REF. FPSD-15794
1 and 2 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (October 2024 edition),
and considering that the present claim was lodged on 28 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
21. 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 he 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
22. 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 he will refer only to the facts, arguments and documentary evidence, which
he considered pertinent for assessing the matter at hand.
i. Main legal discussion and considerations
23. The Single Judge then 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
as per the Contract, namely the monthly salary of June 2024 amounting to USD 45,833.
24. In this context, the Single Judge acknowledged that his 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.
25. 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.
26. In this respect, the Single Judge noted that the evidence provided by the Respondent prove
the payment of the amounts claimed as outstanding by the Claimant. In fact, the Player
was entitled to USD 700,000 as the total value of the Contract and the Club provided proof
of payments totalling USD 735,060.40, based on the conversation rates in force on the day
of the payments. For the sake of clarity, the Single Judge noted that the Respondent
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REF. FPSD-15794
presented proof payment of KWD 46,335 on 5 December 2023, USD 45,500 on 2 August
2023, KWD 27,958 on 27 September 2023, KWD 13,980 on 30 November 2023, KWD 27,958
on 12 February 2024, KWD 13,884 on 27 February 2024, KWD 13,980 on 31 March 2024,
KWD 5,170 on 26 April 2024, KWD 13,980 on 30 April 2024, KWD 25,000 on 27 May 2024,
KWD 13,847 on 31 May 2024 and KWD 10,780 on 9 July 2024.
27. Bearing in mind the foregoing and the fact that the Player did not specifically dispute having
received the amounts in accordance with the Respondent’s proof of payment, the Single
Judge concluded, without the need to enter the analysis of the authenticity of the document
dated 13 July 2024, that no amounts are outstanding under the Contract.
28. Consequently, the Single Judge decided to reject the claim of the Player.
d. Costs
29. 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.
30. 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.
31. Lastly, the Single Judge concluded his deliberations by rejecting any other requests for
relief made by any of the parties.
pg. 7
REF. FPSD-15794
IV. Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the Claimant, Barrahma Elmehdi, is rejected.
2.
This decision is rendered without costs.
For the Football Tribunal:
Emilio García Silvero
Chief Legal & Compliance Officer
pg. 8
REF. FPSD-15794
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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