Decision of the Single Judge of the Players Status Committee

Transcription

1 Decision of the Single Judge of the Players Status Committee passed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 16 March 2016, by Geoff Thompson (England) Single Judge of the Players Status Committee, on the claim presented by the club, Club A, country B as Claimant against the club, Club C, country D as Respondent regarding a contractual dispute between the parties relating to the

2 I. Facts of the case 1. On 9 June 2011, the club from country B, Club A (hereinafter: the Claimant), and the club from country D, Club C (hereinafter: the Respondent), concluded a transfer agreement for the transfer of the player, (hereinafter: the player), from the Claimant to the Respondent. The aforesaid transfer agreement stipulated, inter alia, that: Bei einem Wechsel des Spielers E, geb.: während seiner Vertragslaufzeit mit Club C ( ) erhält Club A eine weitere Entschädigung in Höhe von 10% der erzielten Transferentschädigung Club C verpflichtet sich bei einem Wechsel zur Offenlegung der Transfervereinbarung gegenüber dem Club A. [Freely translated into English: In case of a transfer of the player,, born on 14 February 1990, during the term of his contract with [the Respondent] ( ) [the Claimant] will be entitled to a further compensation of 10% of the obtained transfer compensation. In case of a transfer, [the Respondent] is obliged to disclose the transfer conditions to [the Claimant]. 2. On 8 December 2015, the Claimant lodged a claim in front of FIFA against the Respondent for breach of contract. The Claimant indicated that the Respondent, despite the fact that the player was allegedly transferred to Club F in August 2014, did not inform the Claimant about the transfer conditions and did not pay the amount corresponding to 10% of the respective transfer fee as agreed in the transfer agreement concluded between the Claimant and the Respondent. In view of the foregoing, the Claimant requested 10% of the alleged transfer compensation of EUR 4,900,000, equivalent to EUR 490,000. In this respect, the Claimant explained that the transfer compensation for the player amounted to EUR 3,500,000 and that, in addition, the Player G was transferred from Club F to the Respondent. According to the Claimant, the Player G had a value of EUR 1,400,000 at the moment of the transfer. 3. In support of its claim, the Claimant provided several articles from the internet which indicated that the Respondent and Club F agreed upon an alleged transfer compensation in the amount of EUR 3,500, In spite of having been invited by FIFA to provide its position regarding the claim, the Respondent did not respond to the claim or make any statements at all during the course of the investigation. II. Considerations of the Single Judge of the Players Status Committee 2

3 1. First of all, the Single Judge of the Players Status Committee (hereinafter: the Single Judge) analysed which Procedural Rules were applicable to the matter at hand. In this respect, he referred to art. 21 of the Rules Governing the Procedures of the Players Status Committee and the Dispute Resolution Chamber (edition 2015; hereinafter: the Procedural Rules) as well as to the fact that the present matter was submitted to FIFA on 8 December Therefore, the Single Judge concluded that the 2015 edition of the Procedural Rules is applicable to the matter at hand. 2. Subsequently, the Single Judge analysed which edition of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players is applicable as to the substance of the matter. In this respect, he referred, on the one hand, to art. 26 par. 1 and 2 of the 2015 editions of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players and, on the other hand, to the fact that the claim was lodged in front of FIFA on 8 December In view of the foregoing, the Single Judge concluded that the 2015 edition of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (hereinafter: the Regulations) is applicable to the case at hand as to the substance. 3. Furthermore, the Single Judge confirmed that, on the basis of art. 3 par. 1 and par. 2 of the Procedural Rules in connection with art. 23 par. 1 and par. 3 as well as art. 22 lit. f) of the Regulations, he was competent to deal with the present matter since it concerned a dispute between two clubs affiliated to two different associations. 4. His competence and the applicable regulations having been established, the Single Judge entered into the substance of the matter. In doing so and first of all, the Single Judge observed that the Respondent had not submitted any comments in response to the claim lodged against it by the Claimant despite having been asked to do so by FIFA. Therefore, the Single Judge concluded that in this way the Respondent had renounced to its right of defence and thus it had to be assumed that it had accepted the allegations of the Claimant. 5. Bearing in mind the aforementioned, the Single Judge referred to art. 9 par. 3 of the Procedural Rules and pointed out that in the present matter a decision shall be taken upon the basis of the documents on file, in other words, upon the allegations and documents provided by the Claimant. 6. In this respect, the Single Judge noted that the parties had concluded a contract for the definitive transfer of the player from the Claimant to the Respondent, according to which the Claimant, in case of a transfer of the player during the term of his contract with the Respondent, will be entitled to a further compensation of 10% of the obtained transfer compensation. 3

4 7. Furthermore, the Single Judge also noted that the parties had agreed that the Respondent, in case of a transfer of the player, is obliged to disclose the transfer conditions to the Claimant. 8. The Single Judge then reverted to the allegations of the Claimant and noted that it had claimed that the Respondent, despite the fact that the player was allegedly transferred to Club F in August 2014, did not inform the Claimant about the transfer conditions and did not pay the amount corresponding to 10% of the alleged transfer fee of EUR 4,900,000, equivalent to EUR 490, In this regard, the Single Judge observed that the Claimant alleged that the Respondent and Club F agreed on a transfer compensation of EUR 3,500,000 as well as the transfer of the player, Player G, from Club F to the Respondent in exchange for the transfer of the player. In view of this, the Single Judge took note that, according to the Claimant, the player, Player G, had a value of EUR 1,400,000 at the moment of the transfer. 10. On account of the above, and starting with the amount claimed by the Claimant according to the transfer agreement, the Single Judge pointed out that it remains uncontested that the Claimant and the Respondent agreed upon the entitlement of the Claimant to 10% of any compensation in case of the transfer of the player. Likewise, the Single Judge was eager to point out that the transfer compensation in the amount of EUR 4,900,000 for the transfer of the player from the Respondent to Club F alleged by the Claimant also remained uncontested by the Respondent. 11. In light of the aforementioned and in particular on the basis of the available documentation on file, the Single Judge decided to accept the Claimant s claim and held that the Respondent must pay to the Claimant the amount of EUR 490, Lastly, the Single Judge referred to art. 25 par. 2 of the Regulations in combination with art. 18 par. 1 of the Procedural Rules, according to which, in proceedings before the Players Status Committee including its Single Judge, costs in the maximum amount of CHF are levied. The relevant provision further states that the costs are to be borne in consideration of the parties degree of success in the proceedings (cf. art. 18 par. 1 of the Procedural Rules). 13. In respect of the above, the Single Judge held that the amount to be taken into consideration in the present proceedings is EUR 490,000, related to the claim of the Claimant. Consequently, the Single Judge concluded that the maximum amount of costs of the proceedings corresponds to CHF 25,000 (cf. table in Annex A). 4

5 14. As a result, and taking into account that the claim of the Claimant is accepted as well as that the Respondent never took stance in the procedure, the Single judge determined the costs of the current proceedings to the amount of CHF 25,000, which shall be borne by the Respondent. ***** Decision of the Single Judge of the Players Status Committee 1. The claim of the Claimant, Club A, is accepted. 2. The Respondent, Club C, has to pay to the Claimant, within 30 days as from the date of notification of the present decision, the amount of EUR 490, In the event that the aforementioned sum is not paid by the Respondent within the stated time limit, interest at a rate of 5% p.a. will fall due as of the date of expiry of the stipulated time limit and the present matter shall be submitted, upon request, to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee for consideration and a formal decision. 4. The final costs of the proceedings in the amount of CHF 25,000 are to be paid by the Respondent within 30 days as from the date of notification of the present decision as follows: 4.1. The amount of CHF 20,000 has to be paid to FIFA to the following bank account with reference to case nr. XXXX: UBS Zurich Account number U (FIFA Players Status) Clearing number 230 IBAN: CH U SWIFT: UBSWCHZH80A 4.2. The amount of CHF 5,000 has to be paid directly to the Claimant. 5. The Claimant is directed to inform the Respondent directly and immediately of the account number to which the remittances are to be made in accordance with the above points 2. and 4.2. and to notify the Single Judge of the Players Status Committee of every payment received. ***** 5

6 Note relating to the motivated decision (legal remedy): According to article 67 par. 1 of the FIFA Statutes, this decision may be appealed against before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The statement of appeal must be sent to the CAS directly within 21 days of receipt of notification of this decision and shall contain all the elements in accordance with point 2 of the directives issued by the CAS, a copy of which we enclose hereto. Within another 10 days following the expiry of the time limit for filing the statement of appeal, the appellant shall file a brief stating the facts and legal arguments giving rise to the appeal with the CAS (cf. point 4 of the directives). The full address and contact numbers of the CAS are the following: For the Single Judge of the Players Status Committee: Court of Arbitration for Sport Avenue de Beaumont Lausanne - Switzerland Tel: Fax: info@tas-cas.org Markus Kattner Acting Secretary General Encl. CAS Directives 6