The case involves a dispute before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) between Club Salernitana Calcio 1919 S.p.A., an Italian football club, and Club Atlético River Plate, an Argentine football club, along with player agent Brian Cesar Costa. The dispute centered on training compensation for an Argentine player who moved from River Plate to Salernitana in 2007. River Plate claimed EUR 150,000 in training compensation based on FIFA guidelines for category III clubs. The FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) later issued a decision without detailed reasoning, ordering Salernitana to pay EUR 280,000 plus interest. Salernitana appealed this decision to CAS without first requesting the grounds of the DRC decision, leading FIFA to argue that the appeal was inadmissible since the decision was final and binding.
The CAS panel examined three jurisdictional prerequisites: whether the appeal challenged a sports-related decision, whether the parties agreed to CAS jurisdiction, and whether all internal legal remedies were exhausted. The panel determined that the DRC's decision, despite lacking reasoning, qualified as a formal decision under CAS rules. It also clarified that requesting the decision's grounds did not constitute an additional legal remedy. The panel affirmed its jurisdiction, dismissing FIFA's argument that the appeal was inadmissible.
On the merits, the panel addressed whether River Plate had waived its right to training compensation by declaring the player a "free agent." It concluded that the free agent status only freed the player from contractual obligations and did not inherently waive training compensation rights. The panel found no evidence in the correspondence between the parties that River Plate intended to waive its claim. Regarding the compensation amount, the DRC had initially calculated it at EUR 280,000, but Salernitana argued it should be capped at EUR 142,500, as it belonged to UEFA category III. The panel recalculated the amount based on FIFA regulations and Circular 959, setting it at EUR 145,000, broken down into specific payments for the player's training periods.
Concerning interest, the DRC had ordered a 5% annual rate starting 30 days after the decision's notification (August 3, 2009). River Plate requested interest from April 2007, when it first filed its claim, but the panel declined to rule on this due to the absence of a counter-appeal. The final decision upheld the EUR 145,000 compensation with interest from August 3, 2009, and dismissed all other claims. The case underscores the procedural requirements for CAS appeals, the interpretation of training compensation under FIFA regulations, and the limitations on modifying decisions when no counter-appeal is filed. The panel's ruling highlights the importance of clear contractual and regulatory interpretations in resolving sports-related disputes.