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International Arbitration Forum

Okzhetpes Futbol Kluby v. Alexandr Sheplyakov

Case summary

At a glance

Parties
FC Okzhetpes (Kazakhstan) v. Alexandr Sheplyakov (Russian professional football player)
Case no.
CAS 2021/A/8375
Forum and rules
Court of Arbitration for Sport, appeals procedure (CAS Code); appeal against a FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber decision of 28 July 2021
Treaty
None. Employment Contract No. 38 of 16 February 2020; FIFA RSTP (January 2021 edition), with Swiss law applying subsidiarily
Tribunal
Leanne O'Leary (Sole Arbitrator)
Sector
Professional football; player employment
Outcome
Appeal partially upheld (16 March 2023). The amounts awarded by the DRC were confirmed but recast as gross sums, so the club may deduct tax. The club's 50% COVID-19 salary reduction was not recognised.
Amount
Awarded: KZT 3,806,000 gross for each of March, April and October 2020; KZT 1,141,800 gross for November 2020; KZT 3,552,266 gross for unused leave, less KZT 155,923 for an air ticket. Interest at 5% p.a. on all sums. The club may deduct tax and other obligatory payments.

The dispute

FC Okzhetpes is a Kazakh football club organised as a state utility company. It employed the Russian player Alexandr Sheplyakov under a contract running from 16 February 2020 to 9 November 2020, at a monthly salary of KZT 3,806,000. During two COVID-19 "downtime" periods (16 March–31 May 2020 and 4 July–8 August 2020), the club cut his salary by 50%. It relied on Order No 41 of 16 March 2020, on clause 3.8 of the contract, on an amended collective agreement and on the Kazakhstan Labor Code. When the contract ended, the club did not pay him for unused annual leave. The FIFA DRC awarded the player his unpaid salary for March, April, October and November 2020 and his leave pay, treating the contract salary as net. On appeal, the club argued that the salary was a gross amount subject to 10% income tax, that the downtime reductions were lawful, and that leave pay should be pro-rated to the contract's duration. The player argued that the reduction was unilateral and unlawful, that he was not a trade-union member bound by the collective agreement, and that the appeal's request for relief was defective and could not be amended.

Key holdings

  1. New documents not filed before the DRC were admitted under Article R57(3) of the CAS Code: the Collective Agreement, a Labor Inspection Report and a Kokshetau City Court Decision. The club had not behaved abusively, and admitting them was not unfair. Pay slips filed after the hearing were excluded under Article R56, because no exceptional circumstances were shown. ¶¶ 77–81
  2. The original request for relief was valid even though it named the FIFA PRS instead of the DRC. However, the amended request in the Reply, which added a quantum and a claim for costs, was excluded for lack of exceptional circumstances. ¶¶ 88–90
  3. Under clause 3.4 of the contract, payments are stated "without" tax deductions. The monthly salary of KZT 3,806,000 is therefore a gross amount, and the club may deduct tax and other obligatory payments. ¶ 100
  4. The 50% COVID-19 salary reduction was a unilateral variation. Under the FIFA Guidelines, such a variation is recognised only if it complies with national law or a collective agreement. The parties' submissions on Kazakh law conflicted, and the club filed no expert legal opinion. The Kazakh court decision did not bind CAS. The player was therefore entitled to his full salary throughout his employment. ¶¶ 108–112
  5. The player had not cross-appealed, so the review was limited to the amounts set by the DRC. The salary for March, April and October 2020 is owed at KZT 3,806,000 gross per month. The club did not prove its seven-working-day figure for November, so the DRC's KZT 1,141,800 (gross) stands. ¶¶ 116–118
  6. Under pacta sunt servanda, clause 5.2 gives the player the full 28 calendar days of annual leave, not a pro-rated entitlement. He is owed KZT 3,552,266 gross, less tax and the air ticket cost of KZT 155,923. ¶ 122

Procedural history

  1. 19 January 2021The player filed his claim before the FIFA DRC.
  2. 28 July 2021The DRC partially upheld the claim. Its grounds were notified on 2 September 2021.
  3. 23 September 2021The club filed its Statement of Appeal with CAS, which also served as its Appeal Brief.
  4. 19 January 2022The Sole Arbitrator was appointed, the day after the player filed his Answer (18 January 2022).
  5. 14 and 21 February 2022Second round of written submissions: the club's Reply and the player's Rejoinder.
  6. 7 April 2022Hearing held by videoconference. The player and his representative did not attend.
  7. 16 March 2023Award: the appeal is partially upheld and point 2 of the DRC decision is amended.

Tribunal, counsel and experts

Decided by
  • Leanne O'Leary Sole arbitrator, Court of Arbitration for Sport — appointed by the institution
For the claimant
FC Okzhetpes (in-house)

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Keywords

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

Case ID
CAS 2021/A/8375
Claimant
Okzhetpes Futbol Kluby
Respondent
Alexandr Sheplyakov
Documents

Procedure: Appeal
Sport: Football
Matter: Contractual litigations (except transfer)
Outcome: Partially Upheld
Panel: Leanne O’Leary
Source: Court of Arbitration for Sport case database.