Labour Disputes
Texto da decisão
REF. FPSD-17811
Decision of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed on 28 April 2025
regarding an employment-related dispute concerning the player
Fernando José Gomes Júnior
BY:
Angela COLLINS (Australia)
CLAIMANT:
Fernando José Gomes Júnior, Brazil
Represented by Filipe Orsolini Pinto de Souza
RESPONDENT:
PSIS Semarang, Indonesia
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REF. FPSD-17811
I. Facts of the case
1.
On 3 July 2024, the Brazilian player Fernando José Gomes Júnior (hereinafter, the Player or
the Claimant) and the Indonesian club PSIS Semarang (hereinafter, the Club or the
Respondent) concluded an employment contract valid for the 2024/2025 Indonesian league.
2.
On 1 December 2024, the Player and the Club (hereinafter, jointly referred to as the Parties)
concluded a termination agreement (hereinafter, the Termination Agreement), whereby
they agreed to mutually terminate their employment relationship.
3.
Pursuant to Clause 2 of the Termination Agreement, the Club undertook to pay the Player
IDR 157,500,000 “at the end of the contract period”.
II. Proceedings before FIFA
4.
On 15 January 2025, the Claimant filed the claim at hand before FIFA. A summary of the
Parties’ respective positions is detailed below.
a. Claim of the Claimant
5.
The Player contended that, according to the Termination Agreement, the Club undertook
to pay him IDR 157,500,000 by 1 December 2024.
6.
In this regard, the Player argued that the Club has only paid IDR 40,000,000. Accordingly,
the Player claimed that IDR 117,500,000 remains outstanding.
7.
The Player requested the following relief:
“In view of all above, the Claimant requests:
a. The FIFA general secretariat to issue a proposal according to the Article 20 of the FIFA
Procedural, given that the case does not raise complex factual or legal issues;
b. The DRC to send this claim to the Respondent (…) with a time limit for a statement or a
reply, pursuant to article 21.1 the FIFA Procedural;
c. The DRC to accept this claim and order [the Club] to pay to the Claimant the total net
amount of Rp. 117,500,000 (one hundred and seventeen million and five thousand
Indonesian Rupiah), plus 5% interests of 5% p.a. as from the due date of each payment;
d. The DRC to accept this claim and include the consequences of the failure to pay the
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REF. FPSD-17811
relevant amounts in due time, pursuant to article 24 of the FIFA RSTP”.
b. Reply of the Respondent
8.
In its reply, the Club confirmed that, on 1 December 2024, the Parties entered into the
Termination Agreement, and that it still owes the Player IDR 117,500,000 in accordance
with said agreement.
9.
The Club claimed that it has a strong commitment in fulfilling its contractual obligations
towards the Player.
III. Considerations of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
a. Competence and applicable legal framework
10. First of all, the Single Judge of the Dispute Resolution Chamber (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 15 January 2025 and
submitted for decision on 28 April 2025. Taking into account the wording of art. 34 of the
January 2025 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.
11. 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 (hereinafter, the Regulations) (January
2025 edition), she is competent to deal with the matter at stake, which concerns an
employment-related dispute with an international dimension between a Brazilian player
and an Indonesian club.
12. 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. 29 of
the Regulations, the January 2025 edition of the Regulations is applicable to the matter at
hand as to the substance.
b. Burden of proof
13. 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
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REF. FPSD-17811
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
14. 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.
i. Main legal discussion and considerations
15. The Single Judge then moved to the substance of the matter, and took note that it
concerned a claim by a player against a club for overdue payables arising from the
Termination Agreement concluded between the Parties on 1 December 2024.
16. In this regard, the Single Judge noted that, according to the Player, the Club undertook to
pay him IDR 157,500,000 by 1 December 2024. However, the Player claimed that the Club
has only paid IDR 40,000,000, and that therefore IDR 117,500,000 remains outstanding.
17. The Single Judge also noted that, for its part, the Club acknowledged the aforementioned
debt, and argued that it has a strong commitment in fulfilling its contractual obligations
towards the Player.
18. In light of the above, considering the Club’s acknowledgement of debt, and bearing in mind
the basic legal principle of pacta sunt servanda, which in essence means that the
agreements must be respected by the parties in good faith, the Single Judge decided that
the Club is held liable to pay to the Claimant the outstanding amount arising from the
Termination Agreement, i.e., IDR 117,500,000.
19. The Single Judge, however, noted that the Termination Agreement did not provide for the
agreed sum to be paid on a net basis. Therefore, the Single Judge decided that she could
not award these amounts as such.
20. In addition, taking into consideration the Player’s request as well as the constant practice
of the Football Tribunal in this regard, the Single Judge decided to award the Player interest
at the rate of 5% per annum on the outstanding amount as from the day following its
undisputed due date, i.e., 2 December 2024, until the date of effective payment.
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REF. FPSD-17811
ii. Compliance with monetary decisions
21. 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
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.
22. 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.
23. 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.
24. 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.
25. 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
26. 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.
27. 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.
28. Lastly, the Single Judge concluded her deliberations by rejecting any other requests for
relief made by any of the Parties.
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REF. FPSD-17811
IV. Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the Claimant, Fernando José Gomes Júnior, is partially accepted.
2.
The Respondent, PSIS Semarang, must pay to the Claimant the following amount(s):
IDR 117,500,000 as outstanding amount plus 5% interest per annum as from 2 December
2024 until the date of effective payment.
3.
Any further claims of the Claimant are rejected.
4.
Full payment (including all applicable interest) shall be made to the bank account indicated
in the enclosed Bank Account Registration Form.
5.
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.
6.
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.
7.
This decision is rendered without costs.
For the Football Tribunal:
Emilio García Silvero
Chief Legal & Compliance Officer
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REF. FPSD-17811
NOTE RELATED TO THE APPEAL PROCEDURE
According to art. 50 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., art. 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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