Mouloudia Club d’Oujda v. Yacouba Sylla

At a glance

Parties

Mouloudia Club d'Oujda (Morocco) v. Yacouba Sylla (French professional footballer)

Case no.

CAS 2021/A/8515

Forum and rules

Court of Arbitration for Sport, appeal procedure under the CAS Code (Articles R47, R58)

Treaty

Employment contract; FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP), with Swiss law applied as supplementary law

Tribunal

Alexis Schoeb (Sole Arbitrator)

Sector

Football employment contract

Outcome

Appeal partially upheld (21 October 2022). The club had just cause to terminate the contract, but neither side was awarded compensation. The player's outstanding pay was reduced to exclude February 2021.

Amount

FIFA DRC had awarded MAD 1,750,000 in outstanding pay, EUR 2,323 in medical costs and MAD 2,600,000 in compensation. CAS awarded MAD 1,685,000 in outstanding pay plus 5% interest a year from 2 March 2021, and EUR 2,323 in medical costs. No compensation. The club's claim for MAD 2,225,000 was rejected.

The dispute

Yacouba Sylla, a French footballer, signed a contract with the Moroccan club Mouloudia Club d'Oujda on 26 October 2020. It ran from 2 November 2020 to 30 June 2022 and paid MAD 60,000 net a month plus signing bonuses. The player left for France on 2 January 2021, with the club's permission, to be treated for an injury. He was due back on 1 February 2021 but did not return. He cited COVID-19 travel rules, threats from supporters and a medical appointment. He also complained that the club had paid him no salary for November 2020 to January 2021. After formal notices on 19 and 23 February 2021, the club terminated the contract on 2 March 2021 for abandonment of post under Article 14 of the FIFA RSTP. The FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) found that the termination was without just cause and awarded the player outstanding pay and compensation. The club appealed to CAS: it argued that the unjustified absence was just cause and claimed compensation itself. The player relied on the club's unpaid salaries and, at the hearing, on the defence of non-performance (exceptio non adimpleti contractus).

Key holdings

1. Applicable law: under Article R58 of the CAS Code the FIFA regulations apply first, with Swiss law as supplementary law. The Moroccan FRMF regulations and Moroccan law chosen in the contract apply only on points the FIFA rules do not cover. ¶¶ 51–57
2. The club had just cause. The player's reasons for staying away were unproven or not credible. The French decree allowed travel to the place of work, and the medical appointment was invoked before it had been confirmed. His absence from 1 February 2021 continued despite two formal notices, the second of which clearly warned of immediate termination. ¶¶ 73–84
3. The defence of non-performance under Article 82 of the Swiss Code of Obligations failed. The player had never said he was refusing to work until his salaries were paid; his letter of 22 February 2021 did not make his return conditional on payment. The defence cannot be raised after the event to oppose a ground for immediate termination. ¶¶ 85–91
4. The FIFA RSTP does not say what happens financially after a justified termination, so the Sole Arbitrator applied Article 337b of the Swiss Code of Obligations, read with Articles 43–44. He found the club partly at fault: it never paid the salaries, its bank-account explanation was rejected, and it had already lost interest in the player by January 2021. The club was awarded no compensation, and the DRC's compensation to the player was set aside. ¶¶ 92–105
5. The player is entitled to his salaries for November 2020 to January 2021, but not for February 2021, because his unjustified absence put him in default. The DRC's MAD 1,750,000 was reduced by the February salary (MAD 60,000) and housing allowance (MAD 5,000) to MAD 1,685,000, plus EUR 2,323 in medical costs. ¶¶ 106–108; operative part

Procedural history

1. 26 October 2020Professional player contract signed, valid from 2 November 2020 to 30 June 2022.
2. 2 March 2021The club terminates the contract for abandonment of post.
3. 22 June 2021The player files a claim with the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber.
4. 3 November 2021The DRC decision (REF FPSD-2695) partly upholds the claim and awards outstanding pay, medical costs and MAD 2,600,000 in compensation. The reasoned decision is notified on 19 November 2021.
5. 9 December 2021The club files its statement of appeal with CAS.
6. 10 March 2022Alexis Schoeb is appointed Sole Arbitrator.
7. 31 May 2022Hearing held.
8. 21 October 2022Award: appeal partially upheld.

Tribunal, counsel and experts

Decided by

• Alexis Schoeb Sole arbitrator, Court of Arbitration for Sport — appointed by the institution

For the claimant

Mohamed Ghazi · Hugo Paris

For the respondent

Redouane Mahrach

Run a conflict check on these names →

Keywords

• just cause
• Article 14 FIFA RSTP
• Article 17 FIFA RSTP
• unjustified absence
• abandonment of post
• exceptio non adimpleti contractus
• Article 337 Swiss Code of Obligations
• Article 337b CO
• contributory fault
• outstanding salaries
• COVID-19 travel restrictions
• FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber
• Morocco
• FRMF
• signing bonus
• football employment contract

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