Garjmi

Decisionofthe PlayersStatusChamber passedon21November2023 BY: JulieJORGENSEN(Denmark) CLAIMANT: AbdeladimGarjmi,Morocco RepresentedbyMrKhaddorAbdelkader RESPONDENT: AlIttihad,Oman I.Factsofthecase 1.On19August2022,MrAbdeladimGarjmiandAlIttihadconcludedanemploymentcontractas“presidentofthefootballsection”validasfromthedateofsignatureuntil15May2023. 2.Accordingly,thecoachwasentitledtoOMR(OmaniRial)500permonth. 3.Followingart.6,thecoachwasentitledtoabonustobedeterminedbytheclub’sboard. 4.Thecontractfurtherstipulatedthefollowing: “Art.3-Ladeuxièmepartieesttenuedecollaboreravecleconseild'administration.lestafftechniqueetlestaffadministratifafind'améliorerleniveaudufootballauclub» (…) Ladeuxièmepartieesttenuedes’intéresserets'engageràassisteràtouteslesséancesd'entraînementfixéesetlesmatchs.» FreetranslationintoEnglish: "Art.3-Thesecondpartyisobligedtocollaboratewiththeboardofdirectors,thetechnicalstaffandtheadministrativestaffinordertoimprovetheleveloffootballattheclub". (...) Thesecondpartyisrequiredtotakeaninterestinandcommittoattendingallscheduledtrainingsessionsandmatches." 5.On24July2023,theclaimantsentadefaultnoticetotheclub,requestingthepaymentofOMR2,800,correspondingtohissalariessinceOctober2022untiltheendofthecontract,andgranted10daystoremedythedefault. II.ProceedingsbeforeFIFA 6.On28August2023,MrABDELADIMGARJMIlodgedaclaimbeforeforoutstandingremunerationandrequestedthepaymentofthefollowingamounts: Item Description Amount(inRialOmani) 1-Salaries -SalariesfortheperiodfromNovember2022toMay2023 2800(i.e.400*7) 2-MatchBonuses -1championshipmatchwonathome,eachworth100Rial 100 -4SultanateofOmanCupmatches:-2matchesathome,eachworth100Rial 200 -2matchesaway,eachworth150Rial 300 3-AdditionalExpenses -CarrentalonFebruary25,2023 56 -CarrentalonMay21,2023 150 -AirfareforreturntoMorocco 197 7.TheClaimantprovidedacopyofhis“AFC”“B”and“C”CoachingCertificates. 8.TheRespondentfailedtoreplytotheclaim. III.ConsiderationsofthePlayers‘StatusChamber a.Competenceandapplicablelegalframework 1.Firstofall,theSingleJudgeofthePlayers’StatusChamber(hereinafteralsoreferredtoasSingleJudgeorJudge)analysedwhetheritwascompetenttodealwiththecaseathand.Inthisrespect,shetooknotethatthepresentmatterwaspresentedtoFIFAon28August2023.Takingintoaccountthewordingofart.34oftheMay2023editionoftheProceduralRulesGoverningtheFootballTribunal(hereinafter:theProceduralRules),theaforementionededitionoftheProceduralRulesisapplicabletothematterathand. 2.Subsequently,theSingleJudgereferredtoart.2par.1oftheProceduralRulesandobservedthatinaccordancewithart.23par.1incombinationwithart.22lit.c)oftheRegulationsontheStatusandTransferofPlayers(May2023edition),thePlayers’StatusChamberiscompetenttodealwithdisputesofaninternationaldimensionbetweencoachandclub. 3.Subsequently,theSingleJudgeanalysedwhichregulationsshouldbeapplicableastothesubstanceofthematter.Inthisrespect,itconfirmedthat,inaccordancewithart.26par.1and2oftheRegulationsontheStatusandTransferofPlayers(May2023edition),andconsideringthatthepresentclaimwaslodgedon28August2023,theMay2023editionofsaidregulations(hereinafter:theRegulations)isapplicabletothematterathandastothesubstance. b.Burdenofproof 4.TheSingleJudgerecalledthebasicprincipleofburdenofproof,asstipulatedinart.13par.5oftheProceduralRules,accordingtowhichapartyclaimingarightonthebasisofanallegedfactshallcarrytherespectiveburdenofproof.Likewise,theSingleJudgestressedthewordingofart.13par.4oftheProceduralRules,pursuanttowhichitmayconsiderevidencenotfiledbytheparties,includingwithoutlimitationtheevidencegeneratedbyorwithintheTransferMatchingSystem(TMS). c.Admissibility 5.TheJudgeobservedtheClaimanthadbeenengagedbytheRespondentunderthetitleof"presidentofthefootballsection." 6.However,theJudgeconsideredthatthisdesignationdeviatedfromtheconventionalroleofacoachasoutlinedinFIFAregulations,whereacoachisdefinedasanindividualresponsibleforplayertraining,selection,tacticaldecisionsduringmatches,andcompetition-relatedtasks. 7.Indeed,theJudgeconsideredthattheterm"president"typicallyimpliedadministrativeororganizationalfunctions,ratherthancoachingresponsibilities.TheJudgenotedthatthecontractplacedsignificantemphasisoncollaborationwiththeboardofdirectors,technicalstaff,andadministrativepersonneltoenhancetheclub'sfootballstandards,withaspecificdirectiveforattendingtrainingsessionsandmatches.Notably,intheopinionoftheJudgetherequirementto"collaboratewiththetechnicalteam"suggestedthattheClaimantdidnotoccupyarolewithinthetechnicalteamitself. 8.TheJudgealsoobservedthat,whiletheClaimantmighthaveheldcoachinglicenses,themerepossessionofsuchcertificatesdidnotinherentlycategorizehimasacoachwithinthespecificcontextofthiscase.Tosubstantiatehisclaimasacoach,theJudgedeterminedthatClaimantwouldhaveneededtoprovidedocumentationorotherevidencedemonstratinghiscoachingactivitieswithintheclub. 9.Consideringthesefactors,theSingleJudgedeterminedthattheclaimpresentedbytheClaimantwasinadmissible,ashehadnotsatisfactorilyprovenhisroleasacoachwithintheclub. d.Costs 10.TheSingl