CAS 2021 A 7794
CAS · Football (FIFA / CAS) · Switzerland · 16 Jan 2023
Why it matters
This case clarifies that a contractual clause granting a club the unilateral right to terminate a coach's contract without cause or compensation is potestative and void under Swiss law and FIFA regulations. It reinforces the principle that fixed-term employment contracts in football require just cause for termination, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision also confirms FIFA's jurisdiction over international coaching disputes when national arbitration bodies lack independence or exclusivity.
Summary
GNK Dinamo Zagreb, a Croatian football club, hired Rene Poms as assistant coach under a fixed-term contract from June 2019 to May 2021. In March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the club unilaterally reduced salaries and, when Poms objected, terminated his contract citing Article 9.4, which allowed the club to terminate without compensation. Poms filed a claim with FIFA's Players' Status Committee (PSC), which found the termination without just cause and awarded him EUR 188,880 in compensation (the remaining salary minus what he earned from a new job). The club appealed to CAS, arguing that the contract gave it the right to terminate, that the dispute should have been heard by the Croatian Football Federation's (CFF) arbitration court, and that the compensation was too high. CAS upheld the FIFA decision. It held that Article 9.4 was a potestative clause (giving one party unlimited power) and therefore null and void under Swiss law, which applied subsidiarily. The termination thus lacked just cause. CAS also confirmed FIFA's jurisdiction because the CFF arbitration clause was not exclusive and the CFF tribunal did not meet FIFA's independence standards. The compensation was correctly calculated based on the remaining contract value minus mitigation. The award was final and binding.
The detail
Parties: GNK Dinamo Zagreb v. Rene Poms & FIFA
Case number: CAS 2021 A 7794
Outcome: CAS dismissed the appeal and confirmed the FIFA PSC decision that the club terminated the contract without just cause, ordering the club to pay EUR 188,880 plus interest to the coach.
Quantum: EUR 188,880
Applicable law: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP), Swiss Code of Obligations, Croatian law (Sports Act, Obligations Act, CFF Rules on the status of coaches)
Issues in play: The case involved a conflict between a contractual clause allowing unilateral termination without compensation (Article 9.4) and the principle of pacta sunt servanda under Swiss law and FIFA RSTP, which require just cause for termination of fixed-term contracts. The clause was deemed potestative and void.
Read the full decision at Court of Arbitration for Sport (football, via FIFA) ↗
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