Etoile Sportive du Sahel v. Clube de Regatas Brasil, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), Leopoldo Roberto Markovsky

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND — A. The Parties

1. Etoile Sportive du Sahel (the “Appellant” or the “Club”) is a football club from Sousse, Tunisia. It is a member of the Fédération Tunisienne de Football (“FTF”), which in turn is a member of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (“FIFA”).

2. Mr Leopoldo Roberto Markovsky (the “First Respondent” or the “Player”) is a professional football player. He was born on 29 August 1983 and is of Brazilian nationality.

3. Clube de Regatas Brasil (the “Second Respondent” or the “Brazilian Club”) is a football club with its registered office in Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil. It is a member of the Brazilian Football Federation (“CBF”), itself affiliated to FIFA.

4. FIFA (the “Third Respondent” or “FIFA”) is the governing body of football at world-wide level and has its registered office in Zurich, Switzerland. FIFA was named as a Respondent in this case and also chose to enter into appearance and make submissions forcefully defending the reasoning in the decision of its Dispute Resolution Chamber.

B. The Dispute between the Parties

5. The Appellant challenges before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (“CAS”) a decision (the “Appealed Decision”) passed by the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber (“DRC”) on 11 June 2015, which partially accepted a claim brought by the Player, ordering the Club to pay outstanding remuneration in the amount of USD 112,500 plus 5% interest p.a., as well as compensation for breach of contract in the amount of USD 880,613 plus 5% interest p.a., both to be paid within 30 days of notification of the Appealed Decision.

6. The circumstances stated below are a summary of the main relevant facts as submitted by the Parties. Additional facts may be set out, where relevant, in connection with the legal discussion which follows.

7. On 13 January 2012, the Player and the Club signed an employment agreement valid from the date of signature until 30 June 2015 (the “Employment Contract”). Each clause of the Employment Contract is written both in French and English with the French version prevailing in case of any deviation. Linguistic errors have not been corrected in the citations which follow.

8. Pursuant to Article 3 of the Employment Contract, the Player was entitled to the following remuneration:

“1) Saison sportive 2011/2012 - salaire mensuel net de douze mille cinq cent (12.500) US dollars sur six mois, soit au total soixante quinze mille (75.000) US dollars pour les six mois.

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• Une prime de rendement de soixante quinze mille (75.000) US dollars que le joueur percevra des qu’il sera regulièrement qualifie avec l’ESS. 2) Saison sportive 2012/2013

• salaire mensuel net de douze mille cinq cent (12.500) US dollars sur douze mois, soit cent cinquante mille (150.000) US dollars par an.

• Une prime de rendement de cent cinquante mille (150.000) US dollars par an servie en trois (03) parties. Saison sportive 2013/2014

• salaire mensuel net de douze mille cinq cent (12.500) US dollars sur douze mois, soit cent cinquante mille (150.000) US dollars par an.

• Une prime de rendement de cent cinquante mille (150.000) US dollars par an servie en trois (03) parties. Saison sportive 2014/2015

• salaire mensuel net de douze mille cinq cent (12.500) US dollars sur douze mois, soit cent cinquante mille (150.000) US dollars par an.

• Une prime de rendement de cent cinquante mille (150.000) US dollars par an servie en trois (03) parties. […] 1) Sport season 2011/2012

• Net monthly salary of twelve thousand five hundred (12,500) dollars of US six months, a total of sixty five thousand (75,000) US dollars for six months.

• A performance bonus of seventy five thousand (75,000) US dollars will receive the player of that will be regularly trained with the ESS. 2) Sport season 2012/2013

• Net monthly salary of twelve thousand five hundred (12,500) US dollars-over-year, one hundred fifty thousand (150,000) USD per year.

• A bonus of one hundred fifty thousand (150,000) USD per year served in three (03) parties. 3) Sport season 2013/2014

• Net monthly salary of twelve thousand five hundred (12,500) US dollars-over-year, one hundred fifty thousand (150,000) USD per year.

• A bonus of one hundred fifty thousand (150,000) USD per year served in three (03) parts. 4) Sport season 2014/2015

• Net monthly salary of twelve thousand five hundred (12,500) US dollars-over-year, one hundred fifty thousand (150,000) USD per year.

• A bonus of one hundred fifty thousand (150,000) USD per year served in three (03) parts”.

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9. Article 4 of the Employment Contract reads as follows:

“AVANTAGE A. L’Etoile Sportive du Sahel prendra également en charge tous les frais de logement, soins médicaux et l’assurance contre les accidents de travail. B. Le joueur bénéficiera de cinq (05) billets d’avion aller-retour Tunisie – Brésil par saison.

C. L’Etoile Sportive du Sahel mettra à la disposition du joueur un moyen de transport.

ADVANTAGE A. L’Etoile Sportive du Sahel will also support all the costs of housing, medical care and insurance against accidents.

B. The player will receive five (05) tickets roundtrip Tunisia – Brazilian season. — C. L’Etoile Sportive du Sahel will provide the player a means of transport”.

10. Article 5 of the Employment Contract provides the following:

“DISPOSITIONS SPECIALES En cas d’insuffisance ou de manque de rendement du joueur Markovsky Leopoldo Roberto, L’Etoile Sportive du Sahel se réserve le droit d’exiger de ce dernier la révision de la rémunération et les avantages prévus dans l’article 3 et 4 du présent contrat.

SPECIAL DISPOSITIONS In case of insufficiency or yield’s fail of the player Markovsky Leopold Roberto, the Etoile Sportive du Sahel will be entitled to require from the player a review of his remuneration and advantages foreseen in articles 3 and 4 from the present contract”.

11. Article 15 of the Employment Contract reads as follows:

“REGLEMENTS DES LITIGES ET ATTRIBUTION DES COMPETENCES Les parties conviennent de régler a l’amiable les différents qui pourront surgir a l’occasion de l’exécution du présent contrat. A défaut, il est fait attribution de juridiction à la FTF et éventuellement à la FIFA. En cas de litige c’est la version française du contrat qui fera foi entre les parties.

REGLEMENTS OF THE LITIGATIONS AND REPUTING OF THE COMPETENCES Them left suit to regulate to the by private agreement one the different ones that will be able to arise to the occasion of the execution of the present contract. To defect, it is done jurisdiction granting to the FTF and eventually to the FIFA. In case of litigation this is the French version of the contract that done faith between the parties”.

12. Article 16 of the Employment Contract provides the following:

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“REGLEMENT LIES AU FOOTBALL Le joueur et le club sont tenus de respecter les statuts, règlements, inclus le Code d’éthique, et décisions de la FIFA, de la Confédération, de l’association membre et, le cas échéant, de la ligue professionnelle, qui font partie intégrante du présent contrat. Les parties le confirment par leur signature. Le joueur et le club reconnaissent que les règlements liés au football susmentionnés sont susceptibles de changer de temps en temps.

REGULATIONS LINKED TO SOCCER The player and the club are held to respect the statutes, regulations, include the ethics Code, and decisions of the FIFA, Confederacy, association member and, if need be, professional league, that are an integral part the present contract. The parties the confirm by their signature. The player and the club recognize that the regulations linked to aforementioned soccer are likely to change time in time”.

13. After having attended a Club’s training camp in Dubai and having played in three friendly matches, the Player did not play again for the Club due to an injury suffered in February 2012.

14. On 19 April 2012, the Player sent, through his counsel, a notice to the Club, stating that between February 2012 and mid-April 2012 the Club had not paid the Player’s monthly salary of USD 12,500 and the bonus of USD 75,000 pursuant to the Employment Contract. The Player also informed the Club that “based on the established jurisprudence of the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber, the continued default of Etoile in connection with the non-payment of the Player’s wage by more than 03 (three) consecutive months can be construed only as a breach of contract”. Finally, the Player requested that the Club pay him by 25 April 2012 an amount of USD 100,000, consisting of overdue salaries for the months of February and March 2012 (in the total amount of USD 25,000) and the overdue bonus payment (in the amount of USD 75,000). The 19 April 2012 letter remained unanswered.

15. On 27 April 2012, the Player’s counsel sent to the Club another letter pointing out that the Club had still not fulfilled its contractual obligations towards the Player and reiterating his previous request for payment of USD 100,000 and also mentioning that should the Club fail to comply with its contractual obligations by 2 May 2012, “we will understand that the Club is terminating the employment contract entered with the Player, with just cause, …” (emphasis in the original) and present a formal claim before the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber against the Club. The letter remained unanswered.

16. On 3 May 2012, the Player’s counsel sent to the Club a notice of termination of the Employment Contract with just cause. The letter stated that the Player was owed USD 112,500 by the Club at that time and that he would present a formal claim to FIFA requesting indemnification in the amount of approximately USD 1,050,000 “in connection with Etoile’s default”.

17. On 12 May 2012, the Club responded to the Player’s attorney, that it had paid the salary of the first contractual month (“pour la période du 13/01/2012 au 12/02/2012”) and indicating that the Player had been injured during the entire period spent with the Club, as evidenced by ultrasound and imaging reports attached to the letter. The Club also informed the Player that it never

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intended to ignore its obligations towards him, underlining that it had provided him with housing, food and means of transport and that it had also covered his expensive treatment for the injury about which he had not informed the Club at the time of his recruitment. The Club added that it had faced organisational difficulties in the past months which prevented it from making payments. It also outlined that the Player’s request for termination was unfounded because the period of non-payment of the salaries did not exceed three months, and demanded that he return to the Club, as his salaries for the previous months were at his disposal.

3. The Proceedings before the DRC

18. On 7 May 2012, the Player filed a claim against the Club before the FIFA DRC requesting that the Club be ordered to pay the outstanding salaries in the amount of USD 37,500, an outstanding bonus of USD 75,000, USD 925,000 as compensation for breach of contract, the equivalent amount of five roundtrip tickets Tunisia – Brazil, and that sporting sanctions be imposed upon the Club. In the submissions it was argued that the Parties had concluded a valid employment agreement, according to which the Club was obliged to pay to the Player salaries and bonuses throughout the contractual period, an obligation which the Club had failed to respect. It was thus argued by the Player that he had terminated his Employment Contract with just cause and that he was entitled to the requested amounts.

19. On 16 June 2012, the Club filed a counterclaim requesting that the FIFA DRC reject the Player’s claim and order the Player to pay to the Club USD 1,500,000 as compensation for the breach of his Employment Contract without just cause.

20. On 11 June 2015, the DRC partially accepted the Player’s claim and rejected the counterclaim.

21. The operative part of the Appealed Decision reads as follows:

“1. The claim of the Claimant/Counter-Respondent, Leopoldo Roberto Markovsky, is admissible.

2. The claim of the Claimant/Counter-Respondent is partially accepted.

3. The claim of the Respondent/Counter-Claimant, Etoile Sportive du Sahel, is rejected.

4. The Respondent/Counter-Claimant has to pay to the Claimant/Counter-Respondent within 30 days as from the date of notification of this decision, outstanding remuneration in the amount of USD 112,500 plus 5% p.a. as from 7 May 2012 until the date of effective payment.

5. The Respondent/Counter-Claimant has to pay to the Claimant/Counter-Respondent for breach of contract in the amount of USD 880,613 within 30 days as from the date of notification of this decision.

6. In the event that the amount stipulated in point 5. is not paid within the stated time limit, interest at the rate of 5% p.a. will fall due as of expiry of the aforementioned time limit.

7. In the event that the amounts stipulated in points 4. and 5. are not paid within the stated time limit,

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the present matter shall be submitted, upon request, to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee for consideration and a formal decision.

8. Any further claim lodged by the Claimant/Counter-Respondent is rejected.

9. The Claimant/Counter-Respondent is directed to inform the Respondent/Counter-Claimant immediately and directly of the account number to which the remittances are to be made and to notify the Dispute Resolution Chamber of every payment received”.

22. The Appealed Decision with grounds was notified to the Parties on 10 February 2016.

II. ARBITRAL PROCEEDINGS

1. Initiation of the CAS proceedings

23. On 29 February 2016, the Club filed a Statement of Appeal against the Appealed Decision before the CAS and nominated Mr Mahmoud Hammami as arbitrator.

24. Following an exchange between CAS and the Parties regarding the language of the proceedings, the President of the CAS Appeals Arbitration Division issued on 18 March 2016 an Order on Language determining English as the language of the proceedings and ordering the Club to file, within 10 days from the notification of the Order, a translation into English of its Statement of Appeal and its Appeal Brief in accordance with Article R51 of the Code of Sports-related Arbitration (“CAS Code”).

25. On 18 March 2016, the Player nominated Mr Michele A.R. Bernasconi as arbitrator.

26. On 21 March 2016, FIFA informed the CAS Court Office that it did not object to Mr Bernasconi’s appointment as arbitrator.

27. On 22 March 2016, the CAS Court Office granted to the Brazilian Club a deadline until 24 March 2016 to confirm Mr Bernasconi’s nomination as arbitrator.

28. On 8 April 2016, the CAS Court Office informed the Parties that as the Brazilian Club had failed to state its position concerning Mr Bernasconi’s nomination as arbitrator it was confirmed that Mr Bernasconi has been jointly nominated by the Respondents.

29. On 7 April 2016, the Club filed its Appeal Brief.

30. On 9 May 2016, the CAS Court Office informed the Parties that the Brazilian Club had not submitted any answer within the prescribed deadline.

31. On 30 May 2016, the Club paid the entire advance on costs for the procedure.

32. Also on 30 May 2016, the CAS Court Office informed the Parties about the constitution of the

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Panel as follows:

President: Mr Dirk-Reiner Martens, Attorney-at-law,Munich, Germany

Arbitrators: Mr Mahmoud Hammami, Attorney-at-law, Ariana, Tunisia Mr Michele A.R. Bernasconi, Attorney-at-law, Zurich, Switzerland

33. On 20 June 2016, the Player filed his Answer.

34. On 20 June 2016, FIFA filed its Answer.

35. On 8 August 2016, the Player signed the Order of Procedure.

36. On 9 August 2016, the Club signed the Order of Procedure.

37. On 10 August 2016 FIFA, signed the Order of Procedure.

38. The Brazilian Club failed to sign and return the Order of Procedure.

39. On 31 August 2016 a hearing was held in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Panel was assisted by Mr William Sternheimer, CAS Deputy Secretary General. The following attended the hearing:

For the Appellant: Mr Adel Ghith, Secretary General; Ms Leila Arnold and Mr Patrick Ocak, Counsel.

For Mr Markovsky, in addition to himself, Messrs Nilo Effori and Luca Tettamanti, Counsel.

For FIFA: Mr Antoine Bonnet, Legal Counsel.

40. At the inception of the hearing, the persons present confirmed that they had no objections to the constitution of the Panel and that they agreed that CAS had jurisdiction to decide the case.

41. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Parties confirmed that they had no objections to the manner in which the procedure had been handled and that their right to be heard had been fully respected.

2. The Parties’ Positions and Prayers for Relief

42. The following section summarises the Parties’ main arguments in support of their respective prayers for relief.

a. The Club

43. The Club argues that:

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– it concluded a valid employment contract with the Player on 13 January 2012. In accordance with said contract, the Club paid to the Player in February 2012 the salary for “the period from January 13, 2012 to February 12, 2012”;

– on 27 February 2012, the Player underwent a medical examination, as he was not fit to play. The examination showed that the Player was suffering from a severe muscle injury. The Club provided medical care to the Player but his health did not improve;

– on 13 March 2012, the Club proposed to the Player to reduce the financial benefits under his Employment Contract in accordance with Article 5, or to mutually terminate it;

– the Player was subject to an additional medical examination on 16 March 2012, which showed no improvement of his condition. The Club attempted again to reach an agreement on reducing the Player’s financial benefits, again without success;

– an echography performed on 23 April 2012 showed significant progress in the Player’s condition. However, as from the end of April 2012, the Club was unable to get in touch with the Player who no longer followed his recovery programme;

– after having received in early May the notice of termination of the Employment Contract, the Appellant sent to the Player a letter requesting that he returns to the Club in order to fulfill his contractual obligations, indicating that the overdue salaries for the months of March and April 2012 were at his disposal;

– the Club had faced administrative and financial difficulties from March to May 2012, as its Board had been dissolved which prevented it from making any kind of payments. As a further reason for its failure to make the payments due to the Player, the Club added at the hearing that this failure was caused by the “Arab revolution” which had put the country into chaos;

– the overdue salaries owed to the Player did not cover a period of 90 days as the FIFA DRC had argued in the Appealed Decision. The termination by the Player was therefore unlawful;

– the bonuses of USD 150,000 per season were in fact performance bonuses the payment of which depended on the number of official match appearances as specified in the rules of the Tunisian Football Federation which were made part of the Employment Contract pursuant to Articles 8 and 16. As the Player did not play a single official match he was not entitled to any bonuses; and,

– following his departure from Tunisia, the Player signed player contracts for salaries way below his market value which was a clear sign of bad faith.

44. In light of the above, the Appellant requests the CAS:

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“1. To accept our appeal against the decision of the “DRC” FIFA, in connection with this case

2. To review the sentence of the “DRC” in its entirety.

3. To authorize an oral session to present our testimonies in relation with this case.

4. To declare that the player had terminated his contract with our club without just cause.

5. To grant our club the payment of the amount of One million five hundred thousand US dollars (USD 1,500,000) for termination of contract without just cause. This amount should be jointly and mutually recognized by the player and the Brazilian club “Clube de Regatas” as requested in our letters to FIFA “DRC” dated 16 June 2012 (see attachment no. 17) and dated 16 July 2012 (see attachment no. 18)

6. In case, all the above arguments failed to convince your honourable court, we would really appreciate softening of the initial judgement terms.

7. So, if the panel decides to give just cause to the player, we would hope that the court takes into account his bad faith in his statements concerning his new employment contracts and not to grant him the financial compensation for breach of his contract with our club.

8. To condemn the player to pay all the expenses and costs of this arbitration”.

45. At the end of the hearing on 31 August 2016 the Club requested that the entire FIFA file in this case be added to the CAS file and that it be granted time to review the FIFA file and possibly make further submissions in the exercise of its right to be heard.

b. The Player

46. The Player states that on 13 January 2012, he concluded the Employment Contract with the Club, valid from 13 January 2012 to 30 June 2015.

47. The Player regularly trained with and played for the Appellant during the pre-season period, a fact which the Club had originally denied but then admitted at the hearing. During a training session at the end of February he suffered a minor muscular injury.

48. Immediately after the he became injured, the Club started pressuring the Player to either sign an agreement accepting a reduction of his salary from USD 12,500 to USD 1,500 or to agree to an early termination of the Employment Contract without compensation. The Player sent two warning letters to the Club, requesting payment of the outstanding amounts owed. As the Club did not comply with such request, the Player terminated his contract, invoking just cause.

49. The Player argues that, contrary to the Club’s allegations, he fulfilled his contractual obligations, training with the Club’s team and playing for it in three friendly matches.

50. The Player further points out that the treatment for his injury was not appropriate and that when trying to attend the recovery sessions he sometimes found the physiotherapy department

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closed, without any prior notice, thus losing several days of his recovery period.

51. Contrary to the Club’s allegations, the Player never received any warning letter from the Club regarding unlawful behaviour which would constitute a breach of the Employment Agreement. The Club’s contention that the Player himself requested that his salary payments be suspended for the period of his injury is untrue and unproven.

52. Article 5 of the Employment Contract does not entitle the Club to unilaterally reduce the Player’s salary in case of injury, but merely “to require from the Player a review of his remuneration and advantages”. Therefore the Player legitimately rejected both the proposal concerning the reduction of his salaries and the one aimed at reaching an agreement on the termination of his employment relationship with the Club without any compensation.

53. The Player argues that if a certain clause provided for a reduction of his salary without establishing its new amount, one of the essential elements of the contract as per FIFA DRC jurisprudence - the remuneration - would be undefined and thus left at the complete discretion of one of the parties, which would render the contract to be invalid.

54. Article 5 of the Employment Contract could also be considered null and void insofar as it was unlawful to reduce the Player's salary because of his alleged poor performance or of an injury, pursuant to well established FIFA DRC jurisprudence.

55. The Club’s attempt to force the early termination of the Employment Contract clearly demonstrates the Club’s intention to dismiss the Player without just cause.

56. A breach of the contractual obligation of the Club to pay the salary and other benefits to the Player falls within the definition of “just cause” provided for in Article 14 FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (“FIFA RSTP”). Moreover, a unilateral termination of the contract is accepted when the essential conditions under which the contract was concluded are no longer present. In this case, the Club owed the Player at the time of his termination the 2011/2012 bonus of USD 75,000, as well as the salaries for three months.

57. The Player quotes the award rendered in CAS 2006/A/1180, where the Panel considered that the non-payment of one month’s salary and eleven match bonuses constituted just cause to terminate the contract. In the matter at hand, the non-payment constituted a substantial breach of contract considering that three months of salary were overdue and the bonus alone corresponded to 50% of the total value of the first year of the Employment Contract.

58. The Player concluded that pursuant to the Employment Contract, monthly payments fell due at the end of each month (January, February, March etc.) and therefore the amount outstanding at the time the claim was lodged with FIFA was equivalent to three months plus the bonus.

59. According to the Player, the FIFA DRC correctly calculated the damages owed to him, including an amount of USD 1,613 for one flight ticket (roundtrip Tunisia/Brazil) to be paid by the Club pursuant to Article 4 of the Employment Contract. Thus, the total amount due to

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the Player by the Club for the breach of the Employment Contract was USD 993,113, according to the calculation below:

– Outstanding bonus of USD 75,000;

– Outstanding salaries: USD 37,500 corresponding to the salaries for February, March and April 2012,

– Compensation for breach of contract USD 880,613

60. The Player requests the CAS to decide as follows:

1. The appeal filed by Etoile Sportive du Sahel against the challenged decision issued by FIFA DRC on 11 June 2015 is dismissed;

2. The challenged FIFA DRC decision on 11 June 2015 is confirmed;

3. The Appellant shall pay and charged with all the procedural costs of this arbitration procedure;

4. The Appellant shall pay the Respondent a contribution to his legal fees and costs suffered in connection with this arbitration in an amount to be set at the discretion of the Panel.

61. At the hearing on 31 August 2016 the Player specified (partly correcting statements in his written submissions) the salaries he earned from the time of the termination of the Employment Contract until the contractual end date of such contract as follows:

– 60,000 Brazilian Real (“BRL”) from the Brazilian Club for a period between 10 July 2013 and 15 December 2013,

– 36,000 USD from a club in Thailand for a period from 1 June 2014 to 30 November 2014, and

– 20,000 BRL from a further club in Brazil from 26 March to 10 July 2015.

62. The Player agreed that these amounts would be taken into account in connection with his duty to mitigate the damages.

c. The Brazilian Club

63. The Brazilian Club did not enter into appearance, made no submissions and did not participate in the hearing.

d. FIFA

64. FIFA argues that contrary to the Club’s allegations, it did not receive the letter reportedly sent

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by the Club on 12 May 2012, in which it invited the Player to return to the Club and resume his duties. Moreover, even if said letter was indeed sent, FIFA was only a copied recipient thereof, alongside the Fédération Tunisienne de Football and the Confederação Brasileira de Futebol, and the letter does not contain any request towards FIFA to forward it to the Player.

65. Except for the new but unproven allegation that the Player would have agreed to postpone the payment of his remuneration, the Club brought forward before CAS the same arguments it had presented before the DRC as to the substance of the matter which the DRC duly addressed in the Appealed Decision.

66. Contrary to the Club's interpretation of Article 3 of the Employment Contract, this article does not stipulate that the Player’s monthly salary shall be paid every thirty days beginning on the starting date of the Employment Contract which would result, as wrongly argued by the Club, in the Player's salary for the month of January 2012 having become due in mid-February.

67. FIFA stresses that according to the Employment Contract the Player is entitled to USD 12,500 for each of the six months representing the remainder of the first season (i.e. January to June 2012). Otherwise, the Employment Contract would have had to speak of 5 (or 5.5) months only. In the absence of further contractual specifications in relation to payment dates, the DRC thus correctly concluded that the Parties had actually agreed that the Player was entitled to receive USD 12,500 at the end of each month, including for the month of January 2012. The Club’s attempt to reduce to 2.5 the number of monthly salaries outstanding at the time of termination is unjustified. Moreover, the Player also had a claim for an outstanding bonus payment of USD 75,000 at the time of termination.

68. The Club’s initial argument that the Player never played for the Club and was thus not entitled to any of the so-called “bonus payments” is also unfounded. Such payments are provided for in Article 3 of the Employment Contract, which does not set out any appearance-related condition for the Player to be entitled to receive the amounts in question. Hence, the DRC made a correct application of the wording of said contractual clause. As the document submitted by the Club before the CAS allegedly assisting in the analysis of the nature of the respective payments was already at its disposal during the proceedings before the DRC, FIFA requests on the basis of Art. R57 paragraph 3 of the CAS Code that the Panel exclude the Club’s attachment no. 16 to the Appeal Brief.

69. FIFA submits that, contrary to the Club’s allegations, in the present case the DRC fully complied with the provisions of Art. 17 of the FIFA RSTP when assessing the components of the amount of compensation payable to the Player. Moreover, the DRC had duly asked the Player for a copy of the contracts he may have signed with other clubs after the termination of the Employment Contract with the Appellant and proactively verified and completed the Player’s Answer in this respect by using information contained in the FIFA Transfer Matching System.

70. In response to the Club’s request that the entire FIFA file be added to the CAS file, FIFA emphasized that all documents in FIFA’s possession in this matter were made available to the

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Club during the proceedings before the DRC.

71. FIFA requests:

1. That the CAS rejects the appeal at stake and confirms at the presently challenged decision passed by the Dispute Resolution Chamber on 11 June 2015 in its entirety.

2. That the CAS orders the Appellant to bear all the costs of the present appeal proceedings.

3. That the CAS orders the Appellant to cover all legal expenses of FIFA related to the proceedings at hand.