DRC Overdue Payables
Texto da decisão
REF. FPSD-16352
Decision of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed on 21 November 2024
regarding an employment-related dispute concerning
the player Robson Azevedo Da Silva
COMPOSITION:
Frans DE WEGER (The Netherlands), Chairperson
Andre DOS SANTOS MEGALE (Brazil), Member
Khadija TIMERA (Senegal), Member
CLAIMANT:
Robson Azevedo Da Silva, Brazil
Represented by Douglas Dalenogare
RESPONDENT:
Basundhara Kings, Bangladesh
pg. 2
REF. FPSD-16352
I. Facts of the case
1.
On 16 July 2022, the Brazilian player, Robson Azevedo Da Silva (hereinafter: the Player or
the Claimant), and the Bangladeshi club, Basundhara Kings (hereinafter: the Club or the
Respondent) entered into an employment contract (hereinafter: the Contract) valid as from
24 November 2022 until 23 November 2024.
2.
In clause 2, the parties stipulated the Player’s remuneration as follows (quoted verbatim):
“Salary: 1st year Salary will be 7,50,000. USD. Paid as Advance 1,50,000 USD and rest of
the amount 6,00,000 USD will be paid as monthly salary i.e. (50,000 USD X 12)
2nd year Salary will be 8,00,000. USD. Advance will be paid 1,40,000 USD at the time of
Player's registration and rest of the amount 6,60,000 USD will be paid as monthly salary
i.e. ( 55,000 USD X 12)”
3.
On 13 May 2024, the Player sent a WhatsApp message to a contact saved as “Mr Wasin
Bashundara” asking when the Club would pay the salary for April. The contact replied that
they would pay him “next week”.
4.
On 21 May 2024, the Player sent another WhatsApp message asking “Mr Wasin
Bashundara” when the Club would pay the salary for April, and the latter replied that “it
would be paid before the last game”.
5.
On 30 May 2024, the parties exchanged new messages, and the Player was told that he
would receive the payment “that Sunday”.
6.
On 11 June 2024, the Player put the Club in default for the payment of the salaries for April,
May and June 2024 and granted 15 days to the Club to comply with the payments. In this
regard, the Player argued that the Club was obliged to pay him on the 10th day of every
month for the previous month.
7.
Between 12 June 2024 and 10 September 2024, the parties exchanged several emails
regarding the payment of the due salaries.
II. Proceedings before FIFA
8.
On 1 October 2024, the Claimant filed the claim at hand before FIFA. A summary of the
parties’ position is detailed below.
pg. 3
REF. FPSD-16352
a. Position of the Claimant
9.
According to the Claimant, the Club failed to pay him the salaries for April, May, June, July,
August and September 2024, amounting to USD 55,000 net each.
10. In this regard, the Player made the following breakdown:
“i. APRIL 2024: Monthly Salary USD 55.000 after taxes, payment that should have been
made on 05/2024;
ii. MAY 2024’ Monthly Salary USD 55.000 after taxes, payment that should have been
made on 06/2024;
iii. JUNE 2024: Monthly Salary USD 55.000 after taxes, payment that should have been
made on 07/2024.
iv. JULY 2024: Monthly Salary USD 55.000 after taxes, payment that should have been
made on 08/2024
V. AUGUST 2024: Monthly Salary USD 55.000 after taxes, payment that should have been
made on 09/2024.
v.i. SEPTEMBER 2024: Monthly salary USD 55.000 after taxes, payment due on
20/10/2024.”
11. The requests for relief of the Claimant were the following:
“Therefore, taking all of the above into account, the DRC should decide to uphold the
player's claim, ordering the club to pay the outstanding salaries, including the applicable
interest and monetary correction, in accordance with the judging body's understanding,
and the full payment (including all applicable interest) should be made to the bank
account indicated in the Bank Account Registration Form, attached.”
12. On 4 November 2024, the Player informed that the Club had failed to make the payment
regarding the salary for September 2024.
b. Position of the Respondent
13. Despite having been invited to do so, the Respondent failed to reply to the claim.
pg. 4
REF. FPSD-16352
III. Considerations of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
a. Competence and applicable legal framework
14. First of all, the Dispute Resolution Chamber (hereinafter: the 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 1 October 2024 and submitted for decision
on 21 November 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. Furthermore, 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 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 Brazilian player
and a club from Bangladesh.
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 (October 2024 edition), and
considering that the present claim was lodged on 1 October 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
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. Having established the competence and the applicable regulations, 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
assessing the matter at hand.
pg. 5
REF. FPSD-16352
i. Main legal discussion and considerations
19. The Chamber 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 outstanding remuneration.
20. In this regard, the Chamber recalled that, according to the Player, the Club failed to pay
him six salaries, totalling USD 330,000 net.
21. Since the Respondent did not provide its position on the claim, and according to the longstanding jurisprudence of the Football Tribunal, it must be considered that it renounced its
right to defence. Consequently, the decision shall be taken based on the documentation
already in the file (i.e., the statements and documents presented by the Claimant).
22. In this context, the Chamber acknowledged that its task was to determine whether the Club
owes a debt to the Player.
23. First, the Chamber noted that, according to the Contract, the Player was entitled to a
monthly salary of USD 55,000, without any specification as to whether this salary was net.
24. Additionally, and although the Player stated in the notice of default that the Club was
required to pay the salaries on the 10th day of the following month, and then argued in the
claim that the salaries fall due on the 20th day of the following month, the Chamber did not
find any clause regarding due dates in the Contract. Therefore, based on the jurisprudence
of the Football Tribunal, the Chamber considered that the Club was obliged to pay the
salaries by the end of each month.
25. The Chamber then pointed out that, in the case at hand, the Respondent bore the burden
of proving that it indeed complied with the financial terms of the Contract.
26. Nonetheless, the Club, having failed to reply to the claim, did not provide any evidence of
having paid the amounts claimed as outstanding by the Claimant.
27. Thus, the Chamber decided that the Player be awarded the salaries for April, May, June,
July, August and September 2024, totalling USD 330,000, with the corresponding interest,
in accordance with the standard practice of the Football Tribunal.
ii. Art. 12bis of the Regulations
28. In continuation, 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.
pg. 6
REF. FPSD-16352
29. To this end, the Chamber confirmed that the Player put the club in default of payment of
the amounts sought and granted the club a 15-day deadline to cure such breach of
contract.
30. Accordingly, the Chamber confirmed that the Club had delayed a due payment without a
prima facie contractual basis for more than 30 days. It followed that the criteria enshrined
in art. 12bis of the Regulations was met in the case at hand.
31. The Chamber further established that by virtue of art. 12bis par. 4 of the Regulations it has
competence to impose sanctions on the Club. On account of the above, the Chamber
decided to impose a warning on the Club in accordance with art. 12bis par. 4 lit. a) of the
Regulations.
32. In this connection, the Chamber 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.
iii. Compliance with monetary decisions
33. 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.
34. 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.
35. 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.
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.
pg. 7
REF. FPSD-16352
37. 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
38. 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.
39. 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.
40. Lastly, the DRC concluded its deliberations by rejecting any other requests for relief made
by any of the parties.
pg. 8
REF. FPSD-16352
IV. Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the Claimant, Robson Azevedo Da Silva, is partially accepted.
2.
The Respondent, Basundhara Kings, must pay to the Claimant the following amount:
- USD 330,000 as outstanding remuneration plus 5% interest p.a. as follows:
- 5% interest p.a. over the amount USD 275,000 of as from 1 October 2024 until the date
of effective payment;
- 5% interest p.a. over the amount USD 55,000 of as from 20 October 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-16352
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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