DRC Overdue Payables
Texto da decisão
REF FPSD-4255
Decision of the
Dispute Resolution Chamber
passed on 31 March 2022
regarding an employment-related dispute concerning the player Garba
Haruna Zamuk
BY:
Philippe Diallo (France)
CLAIMANT:
Garba Haruna Zamuk, Nigeria
RESPONDENT:
SC Football Club Voluntari, Romania
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REF FPSD-4255
I.
Facts of the case
1.
On 10 March 2021, the Nigerian player, Garba Haruna Zamuk (hereinafter: the Claimant),
and the Romanian club, SC Football Club Voluntari (hereinafter: the Respondent) signed an
employment contract, valid as from 10 March 2021 until 15 June 2021.
2.
Pursuant to art. III of the contract, the Claimant was entitled to a monthly salary in the amount
of EUR 5,500.
3.
According to the Claimant, the Respondent failed to pay his salary for the last two months of
the contract in the total amount of EUR 11,000.
4.
On 8 October 2021, the Claimant sent a default notice to the Respondent requesting
payment of his outstanding remuneration in the total amount of EUR 11,000, granting the
Respondent a deadline of 10 days to comply, however to no avail.
II. Proceedings before FIFA
5.
On 10 November 2021, 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 that the Respondent pay the amount of EUR
11,000, corresponding to his salaries for the last two months of the contract, plus 5% interest
p.a. from the respective due dates until date of effective payment.
7.
Additionally, the Claimant requested that art.12bis sanctions be imposed on the Respondent.
b. Position of the Respondent
8.
In its reply to the claim, the Respondent requested that the claim of the Claimant be rejected,
as it paid all amounts agreed to in the contract to the Claimant.
9.
In this context the Respondent submitted various payment documents, reflecting amounts
paid to the Claimant.
c. Additional comments Claimant
10. On 13 December 2021, the Claimant provided his comments on the payment documents
submitted by the Respondent and mentioned that it cannot be taken into account on the
basis of the following.
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“First, the documents provided by the club are not translated and can therefore not be taken
into account by the FIFA SINGLE JUDGE. Secondly, the following payments were made as
match bonuses:
RON 1,000 paid on 11 March 2021
RON 1,296 paid on 23.04.2021
RON 960 paid on 16.03.2021
RON 720 and RON 1,200 paid on 19.04.2021”
III. Considerations of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
a. Competence and applicable legal framework
11. First of all, the Single Judge of the Dispute Resolution Chamber (hereinafter also referred to
as Single Judge) analysed whether he was competent to deal with the case at hand. In this
respect, it took note that the present matter was presented to FIFA on 10 November 2021
and submitted for decision on 31 March 2022. Taking into account the wording of art. 34 of
the October 2021 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. Subsequently, 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 lit. b) of the Regulations on
the Status and Transfer of Players (March 2022 edition), that he is competent to deal with
the matter at stake, which concerns an employment-related dispute with an international
dimension between a Nigerian player and a Romanian club.
13. 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. 1
and 2 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (March 2022 edition), and
considering that the present claim was lodged on 10 November 2021, the August 2021
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 he may consider evidence
not filed by the parties, including without limitation the evidence generated by or within the
Transfer Matching System (TMS).
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c. Merits of the dispute
15. His competence and the applicable regulations having been established, 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 the assessment of the matter at hand.
i. Main legal discussion and considerations
16. The foregoing having been established, the Single Judge moved to the substance of the
matter and took note of the fact that the parties strongly dispute the compliance by the
Respondent of payment of certain financial obligations as per the contract, namely the failure
by the Respondent to pay the Claimant’s salary for the last two months of the contract in the
total amount of EUR 11,000.
17. 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.
18. 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. The Single Judge noted that the Respondent provided payment documents as
proof that it complied with payment of the amounts as claimed by the Claimant.
19. In this regard, the Single Judge wished to point out that, in accordance with art. 13 par. 1 of
the Procedural Rules, all documentation provided in the context of a dispute in front of FIFA
should be presented into one of the official FIFA languages (English, French, Spanish and
German).
20. In this respect, the Single Judge wished to specify that the payment documents provided by
the Respondent, were provided without a translation in one of the official FIFA languages
and could therefore not be taken into account in assessment of the matter at hand.
Furthermore, no reasonable justification was presented by the Respondent for not having
complied with the terms of the contract.
21. 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
contract concluded between the parties.
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ii. Consequences
22. Having stated the above, the Single Judge turned his attention to the question of the
consequences of such unjustified breach of contract committed by the Respondent.
23. The Single Judge observed that the Respondent during the proceedings made a partial
payment to the Claimant in the amount of EUR 5,500, which payment was acknowledged by
the Claimant.
24. As a consequence, and in accordance with the general legal principle of pacta sunt servanda,
the Single Judge decided that the Respondent is therefore liable to pay to the Claimant the
amount of EUR 5,500 which corresponds to his outstanding remuneration as per the last
month of the contract.
25. Moreover, the Single Judge decided to award the Claimant interest at the rate of 5% p.a. on
the outstanding amount as from 21 July 2021 until the date of effective payment.
26. In addition, the Single Judge established that the Respondent had delayed a due payment for
more than 30 days without a prima facie contractual basis.
27. 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.
28. The Single Judge established that in virtue of art. 12bis par. 4 of the Regulations he has
competence to impose sanctions on the Respondent. In this context, the Single
Judge highlighted that, over the past 2 years under case ref. no. 20-01493/pas and case ref.
no.20-01795/chz, the Respondent had already been found to have delayed a due payment
for more than 30 days without a prima facie contractual basis.
29. Moreover, the Single Judge 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.
30. Bearing in mind the above, the deciding body decided to impose a fine on the Respondent in
accordance with art. 12bis par. 4 lit. c) of the Regulations. On account of the above and
taking into consideration the total amount of overdue payables due, the Single
Judge regarded a fine amounting to USD 500 as appropriate and hence decided to impose
said fine on the Respondent.
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iii. Compliance with monetary decisions
31. 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.
32. 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.
33. 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.
34. 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.
35. 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
36. 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 Chamber decided that no procedural costs were to
be imposed on the parties.
37. 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.
38. Lastly, the Single Judge concluded its deliberations by rejecting any other requests for relief
made by any of the parties.
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IV. Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber
1.
The claim of the Claimant, Garba Haruna Zamuk, is accepted.
2.
The Respondent, SC Football Club Voluntari, has to pay to the Claimant, the following
amount:
- EUR 5,500 as outstanding remuneration, plus 5% interest p.a. as from 21 July 2021 until
the date of effective payment.
▪
3.
A fine in the amount of USD 500 is imposed on the Respondent. (cf. note relating to the
payment of the fine below)
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 the ban shall
be of 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 article 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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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).
NOTE RELATING TO THE PAYMENT OF THE FINE
If applicable, payments to FIFA should be made by wire transfer in US dollars (USD) to the following
bank account:
UBS Zurich
Account number 230-366677.61N (FIFA Players’ Status)
Clearing number 230
IBAN: CH12 0023 0230 3666 7761 N
SWIFT: UBSWCHZH80A
Please mention the applicable reference number
CONTACT INFORMATION
Fédération Internationale de Football Association
FIFA-Strasse 20 P.O. Box 8044 Zurich Switzerland
www.fifa.com | legal.fifa.com | [email protected] | T: +41 (0)43 222 7777
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