Sports News
23 August 2010
Appiah – Court of Arbitration for Sport clarifies compensation issues for breach of contract
The complexity of player's contracts can often result in disputes arising between the player and club, should one party wish to terminate the agreement.
A key judgement was delivered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in June concerning the dispute between Turkish club Fenerbahce and the player Stephen Appiah.
Appiah terminated his playing contract with the club without just cause within the Protected Period and CAS overturned the decision of the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber by ruling that the player did not have to pay compensation of over €2 million to his club for his breach of contract.
A persuasive part of Appiah’s argument was that the saving the club made on not having to pay him for the remainder of his contract was greater than their loss, even if compensation was payable under article 17 of the FIFA Regulations.
The significance of the decision is that there has been a clear departure from the approach taken in earlier cases such as Webster and Matuzalem where the awards were made on the basis of the remaining value of the contract.
What we now have is an approach on a case by case basis to establish the injured party’s actual loss arising from the breach.
Although this is welcome news clubs are well advised to include clear and concise provisions in the player’s contract to ensure that the parties are aware of the criteria to be applied in settling the level of compensation for breach of the contract.
This article has been written by Tim Bailey, sports lawyer with Beswicks Solicitors. For more information please contact Tim at Beswicks Solicitors on 01782 205 000.
The contents of this article are for the purposes of general awareness only. They do not purport to constitute legal or professional advice. The law may have changed since this article was published. Readers should not act on the basis of the information included and should take appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances.
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