CAS 2016A4899 Al Jazira FC Sports Company v Hugo Garcia Martorell
CAS · Football (FIFA / CAS) · Switzerland · 24 Apr 2017
Why it matters
This case clarifies that a club's ratification of an agent's services and acknowledgment of debt can validate the agent's right to commission, even if the representation contract was not concluded strictly in advance as required by FIFA regulations. It balances regulatory compliance with contractual good faith and the principle that a party cannot benefit from services and then refuse payment based on procedural technicalities.
Summary
Al Jazira FC (UAE) engaged agent Hugo Garcia Martorell to negotiate the transfer of player L to Gremio FC (Brazil). On 10 July 2014, the club and agent signed an agreement setting the agent's commission at EUR 200,000, payable in instalments linked to the transfer fee payments from Gremio. The transfer contract was also signed that day. Gremio paid the full EUR 1.9 million transfer fee by 31 March 2016. The agent claimed his commission; the club refused, arguing that the representation contract was not signed before the agent started work, violating FIFA Players' Agent Regulations (2008) articles 19 and 20, which require a written representation contract concluded in advance. The FIFA PSC ordered the club to pay EUR 200,000 plus interest. The club appealed to CAS. The CAS panel held that, although the agent was not engaged in strict compliance with FIFA regulations, the club had ratified his activities by signing the agreement and acknowledging the debt. The club benefited from the agent's services, and the agreement validly established the right to commission. The appeal was dismissed, and the FIFA decision upheld.
The detail
Parties: CAS 2016A4899 Al Jazira FC Sports Company v Hugo Garcia Martorell
Outcome: Appeal dismissed; CAS upheld FIFA PSC decision ordering Al Jazira to pay the agent EUR 200,000 plus interest.
Quantum: EUR 200,000
Applicable law: FIFA Players' Agent Regulations (2008 edition); Swiss Code of Obligations (subsidiary)
Issues in play: Whether a players' agent is entitled to commission when the representation contract was signed on the same day as the transfer contract, contrary to FIFA regulations requiring prior written authorization.
Read the full decision at Court of Arbitration for Sport (football, via FIFA) ↗
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