FIFA - Decisión disputa Karekezi 20112023

REF FPSD-12615

Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber passed on 20 November 2023 regarding an employment-related dispute concerning the player Karekezi Jean BY: Frans de Weger, the Netherlands

CLAIMANT:

Jean Karekezi, Rwanda Represented by Sports Makers

RESPONDENT:

Posta Rangers Football Club, Kenya Page 2

REF FPSD-12615

I. Facts of the case

1. On 17 January 2017, the Rwandan player, Jean Karekezi (hereinafter: the player or the Claimant), and the Kenyan club, Posta Rangers Football Club (hereinafter: the club or the Respondent), signed an employment contract valid for three years as from the date of signature (hereinafter: the Contract).

2. In accordance with clause 6, lit. d) of the Contract, the club undertook to pay to the player inter alia a monthly salary of KES 70,000.

3. On 4 January 2018, the player put the club in default of payment of KES 350,000, corresponding to his salaries from August until December 2017.

4. On 12 November 2018, the player put the club in default for the second time and requested payment of his salaries from January until November 2018, within 14 days.

5. On 23 January 2019, the player put the club in default for the third time. Contextually, he referred to his previous notices and requested the default to be cured “in less than month”.

6. On 31 December 2020, 4 January 2021, and 10 November 2022, the player acknowledged that no payment had been received, hence, requested the club to remedy the situation.

7. On 10 October 2023, the player (through his legal representatives), addressed another default notice to the club and requested payment within 10 days of the outstanding remuneration for 2017 (KES 350,000) and 2018 (KES 770,000).

II. Proceedings before FIFA

8. On 19 November 2023, the player filed the claim at hand before FIFA.

9. In his claim, the player referred to his several default notices, which allegedly remained unanswered by the club. Consequently, the player requested to be awarded his overdue payables per the Contract, broken down as follows:

a. KES 350,000 as unpaid salaries for the last five months of 2017; and b. KES 770,000 as unpaid salaries for the last eleven months of 2018.

10. In addition, the player claimed to be entitled to (i) interest of 18% p.a. over the abovementioned amounts; and (ii) USD 10,000 net as legal fees and costs.

11. On 13 November 2023, the FIFA general secretariat informed the player that the matter at hand raised a preliminary procedural matter, as the statute of limitations of 2 years appeared to have elapsed. Consequently, the case would be submitted to an expedited decision in line with art. 19 of the Procedural Rules Governing the Football Tribunal.

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REF FPSD-12615

III. Considerations of the Dispute Resolution Chamber

12. First of all, the Chairperson of the Dispute Resolution Chamber (hereinafter: the Chairperson) analysed whether he was competent to deal with the case at hand.

13. In this respect, he took note that the present matter was presented to FIFA on 12

November 2023 and submitted for a preliminary decision on 20 November 2023. 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.

14. The Chairperson confirmed that, in accordance with art. 19 par. 1 and 2 of the Procedural Rules, he is competent to decide, in an expedited manner, whether the case at stake is

affected by any preliminary procedural matter (i.e., if the Football Tribunal obviously does not have jurisdiction or if the claim is obviously time-barred). Likewise, the Chairperson highlighted that, in case the claim is not affected by any preliminary procedural matters, the FIFA general secretariat would be ordered to continue the procedure (cf. art. 19 par. 3 of the Procedural Rules).

15. Subsequently, the Chairperson 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 (RSTP) (May 2023 edition), the Dispute Resolution Chamber would – in principle – be competent to deal with the matter at stake, which concerns an employment-related dispute with an international dimension between a Rwandan player and a Kenyan club.

16. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Chairperson noted that an issue regarding the admissibility of the present claim was identified by FIFA ex officio.

17. In particular, the Chairperson noted that the present claim appears to be affected by the statute of limitations of 2 years, as stipulated in the RSTP.

18. At this stage, the Chairperson recalled the wording of art. 23 par. 3 of the May 2023 edition of the RSTP, which establishes that “The Football Tribunal shall not hear any case subject to these regulations if more than two years have elapsed since the event giving rise to the dispute.

Application of this time limit shall be examined ex officio in each individual case”.

19. On this note, the Chairperson highlighted that the present claim was lodged in front of the Football Tribunal on 12 November 2023. Therefore, in line with the cited art. 23 par. 3 of the RSTP, any amounts fallen due before 12 November 2021 are affected by the statute of limitations.

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REF FPSD-12615

20. Subsequently, the Chairperson outlined that, in the present case, the player requested the payment of outstanding salaries from 2017 and 2018. As such, the Chairperson decided that his claim is entirely time-barred, thus inadmissible.

21. Having established the above, the Chairperson 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 Chairperson decided that no procedural costs were to be imposed on the player.

22. Likewise, and for the sake of completeness, the Chairperson recalled the contents of art. 25 par. 8 of the Procedural Rules and decided that no procedural compensation shall be awarded in these proceedings.

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REF FPSD-12615

IV. Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber

1. The claim of the Claimant, Jean Karekezi, is inadmissible.

2. This decision is rendered without costs.

For the Football Tribunal: Emilio García Silvero

Chief Legal & Compliance Officer Page 6

REF FPSD-12615

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).

CONTACT INFORMATION

Fédération Internationale de Football Association FIFA-Strasse 20 P.O. Box 8044 Zurich Switzerland www.fifa.com | legal.fifa.com | psdfifa@fifa.org | T: +41 (0)43 222 7777 Page 7