FIFA - Decisión disputa Queiroz Bezerra 20092023

REF. FPSD-10963

Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber passed on 20 September 2023 regarding an employment-related dispute concerning the player Tiago Queiroz Bezerra BY: Angela COLLINS (Australia)

CLAIMANT:

Tiago Queiroz Bezerra, Brazil Represented by Sevde Uzun

RESPONDENT:

Neftçi PFK, Azerbaijan pg. 2

REF. FPSD-10963

I. Facts of the case

1. On 7 September 2021, the Brazilian player Tiago Queiroz Becerra (hereinafter: the Claimant or the Player) and the Azeri club Neftci PFK (hereinafter: the Respondent or the Club) concluded an employment contract (hereinafter: the Contract) valid until 30 June 2022.

2. Art. 3 of the Contract reads inter alia as follows: 3.1. Basic annual remuneration for 2021/22 season will be 383.000 USD (NET) (three hundred and eighty three thousand US Dollars) and it will be paid in 10 (ten) installments starting from September 2021 until June 2022. The remuneration shall be made monthly in arrear, that is, until the 15th day of the next month for which the payment is due, and will be paid in local currency AZN, in this case at the exchange rate of the National Bank of Azerbaijan for the day of payment.

The Club will benefit in any case from a grace period of 45 days. - The amount of 128.000 USD (NET) (one hundred and twenty eight thousand US dollars) from the above total amount will be paid to the Player until 1st October 2021 and 150.000 USD (NET) (one hundred and fifty) until 31st November 2021. 3.2. Other performance bonuses to be freely stipulated by the CLUB at the start of each season. - An amount of 15.000$ for winning Championship of Azerbaijan;

• An amount of 10.000$ for winning the Cup of Azerbaijan each season; - Bonus for every win in Premier League game of Azerbaijan, according to the bonus system of the

Club

II. Proceedings before FIFA

3. On 18 July 2023, 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

4. The Claimant states that the Respondent has failed to pay him the amount of USD 25,000 as part of his basic remuneration.

5. The Claimant filed the following request for relief: The Claimant would like to request you to make a decision that the Respondent shall has to pay the overdue and unpaid 25.000,00-USD in total with their interest from due date stated in the

Contract. In consideration of the fact that the Respondent caused the Claimant to file the case herein, we would like to request your honorable chamber to make a decision that the judicial costs and the attorneyship fees that the Claimant is faced with shall be paid by the Respondent. pg. 3

REF. FPSD-10963

b. Position of the Respondent

6. Despite being invited to submit its position, the Respondent failed to reply to FIFA.

c. Additional submission of the Claimant

7. The Claimant was requested to specify further the amount claimed. The Claimant requests USD 25,000 a part of the salary of June 2022 with interests from the due date.

8. Furthermore, the Claimant refers to art. 3.1. of the Contract, according to which salaries will be paid in local currency AZN at the exchange rate of the National Bank of Azerbaijan for the day of payment.

9. The Claimant amended his requests for relief as follows: The Claimant respectfully requests that you render a decision mandating that The Respondent disburse the sum of USD 25,000, equivalent to the local currency AZN at the exchange rate published by the National Bank of Azerbaijan on the day of payment, along with accrued interest

from the due date (15.06.2022) until the actual date of payment.

III. Considerations of the Dispute Resolution Chamber

a. Competence and applicable legal framework

10. First of all, the Single Judge (hereinafter also referred to as 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 18 July 2023 and submitted for decision on 20 September 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.

11. Subsequently, the Single Judge referred to art. 2 par. 1 and art. 24 par. 1 lit. a) 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 (May 2023), 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 Azeri 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. 26 par. 1 and 2 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (May 2023 edition) and considering that the present claim was lodged on 18 July 2023, the May 2023 edition of said regulations

(hereinafter: the Regulations) is applicable to the matter at hand as to the substance. pg. 4

REF. FPSD-10963

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. c. Merits of the dispute

14. Her 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 she will refer only to the facts, arguments and documentary evidence, which she considered pertinent for the assessment of the matter at hand.

1. Main legal discussion and considerations

15. The foregoing having been established, the Single Judge moved to the substance of the matter, and took note of the fact that the Claimant claims the payment of certain financial obligations by the Respondent as per the contract, namely USD 25,000 as part of his basic remuneration of the month of June 2022.

16. In this context, the Single Judge acknowledged that her 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.

17. 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.

18. Nonetheless, the Single Judge noted that the Respondent has not replied to the claim and thus the Claimant’s allegations remain uncontested.

19. 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, namely USD 25,000.

20. In addition, taking into consideration the Claimant’s request as well as the constant practice of the Single Judge in this regard, the latter decided to award the Claimant interest at the rate of 5%

p.a. on the outstanding amounts as from 16 July 2022 until the date of effective payment. 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 pg. 5

REF. FPSD-10963 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 its deliberations by rejecting any other requests for relief made by any of the parties. pg. 6

REF. FPSD-10963

IV. Decision of the Dispute Resolution Chamber

1. The claim of the Claimant, Tiago Queiroz Bezerra, is partially accepted.

2. The Respondent, Neftçi PFK, must pay to the Claimant the following amount(s): - USD 25,000 as outstanding remuneration plus 5% interest p.a. as from 16 July 2022 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 pg. 7

REF. FPSD-10963

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 FIFA-Strasse 20 P.O. Box 8044 Zurich Switzerland www.fifa.com | legal.fifa.com | psdfifa@fifa.org | T: +41 (0)43 222 7777 pg. 8