FC Girondins de Bordeaux v. FC Espoir de Zio

At a glance

Parties

Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux (France) v. Football Club Espoir de Zio (Togo)

Case no.

CAS 2022/A/8896

Forum and rules

Court of Arbitration for Sport, appeal procedure under the CAS Code; seat in Switzerland (hearing in Lausanne)

Treaty

None; FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (October 2021 edition), with Swiss law applying in the alternative

Tribunal

Olivier Carrard (Sole Arbitrator)

Sector

Football; training compensation

Outcome

Appeal upheld. The FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber decision of 12 April 2022 was set aside, because no bridge transfer was found.

Amount

Before FIFA: EUR 90,000 in training compensation plus 5% annual interest from 2 March 2020. Before CAS, the respondent sought EUR 99,863.01. The award sets aside the order to pay.

The dispute

Bordeaux signed the Togolese player T., born 10 July 2001, on 31 January 2020. It bought him from the Congolese club AS Mbila Sport (the intermediate club) for a fixed fee of EUR 50,000 plus conditional fees of up to EUR 350,000. The player had been registered as an amateur with FC Espoir de Zio in 2017/2018. In 2018/2019 he played for FC Gomido de Kpalime under a one-year written contract. Espoir de Zio claimed training compensation from Bordeaux. It argued that the stay at Mbila Sport was a "bridge transfer" (transfert-relais) meant to avoid training compensation, so that the registration with Bordeaux was the player's first as a professional. The FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber agreed and ordered Bordeaux to pay EUR 90,000 plus interest. On appeal, Bordeaux argued three things: the player was already a professional at Gomido and at Mbila Sport; Bordeaux had no part in his move to Congo; and the Togolese federation alone caused the delay in issuing the International Transfer Certificate (ITC).

Key holdings

1. Under Article 2 of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP), a player's status depends on two things: a written contract, and pay above his actual expenses. The status shown in the player passport is not decisive on its own. ¶¶ 147, 154
2. The player was an amateur at Espoir de Zio. He became a professional at FC Gomido de Kpalime, which had a written contract with him paying CFA 80,000 a month, and the contract was performed. Being a minor when he signed did not deprive him of professional status: the Article 19 ban on international transfers of under-18s did not apply to a transfer between two Togolese clubs. ¶¶ 149–156
3. The contract with Mbila Sport was valid and was performed. The player chose on his own to go to Congo to escape his former agent. He trained there for five months and was paid. The delay in the ITC, from the refusal on 11 September 2019 to delivery on 8 January 2020, was not caused by the player. His movements were therefore not unusual. ¶¶ 161–173
4. No evidence showed that Bordeaux arranged a bridge transfer. Bordeaux had no contact with the player between 23 June 2019 and 17 January 2020. A fixed fee of EUR 50,000, lower than the roughly EUR 340,000 in training compensation that would otherwise have been due, does not on its own prove a bridge transfer. The relevant period at the intermediate club runs from the contract date (19 August 2019) to the transfer (31 January 2020), not the 23 days of registration that the Dispute Resolution Chamber relied on. ¶¶ 177–183
5. Bordeaux's registration of the player was his second registration as a professional, not his first. The appeal was upheld, the Dispute Resolution Chamber decision of 12 April 2022 was set aside, and all other requests were dismissed. ¶¶ 184–185; operative part

Procedural history

1. 25 March 2021The FIFA Disciplinary Committee dismissed the charges of TMS misuse against Mbila Sport and Bordeaux.
2. 9 August 2021Espoir de Zio filed its claim for training compensation with the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber.
3. 12 April 2022The Dispute Resolution Chamber ordered Bordeaux to pay EUR 90,000 plus 5% interest from 2 March 2020. The decision was notified on 28 April 2022.
4. 17 May 2022Bordeaux filed its statement of appeal with CAS. A parallel appeal against FC Gomido de Kpalime was opened as CAS 2022/A/8897.
5. 19 July 2022CAS confirmed the Panel: Olivier Carrard as Sole Arbitrator.
6. 27 September 2022Hybrid hearing, in Lausanne and by video conference.
7. 6 July 2023Award: appeal upheld and the Dispute Resolution Chamber decision set aside.

Tribunal, counsel and experts

Decided by

• Olivier Carrard Sole arbitrator, Court of Arbitration for Sport — appointed by the institution

For the claimant

Matthieu Barandas · Alexandre de Beaufort

For the respondent

Mawuli Kwaku Avorgah

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Keywords

• training compensation
• bridge transfer
• transfert-relais
• FIFA RSTP Article 2
• professional status
• amateur status
• minor player
• Article 19 RSTP
• International Transfer Certificate
• TMS
• FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber
• Bordeaux
• Togo
• AS Mbila Sport
• Gomido de Kpalime
• player passport
• first professional registration

Summary generated with AI from the published documents — refer to the award for the authoritative text.