TAS 2023 A 9819 Tigres de la UANL c. Florian Thauvin & FIFA
CAS · Football (FIFA / CAS) · Switzerland · 23 May 2024
Why it matters
This case clarifies the limits of FIFA's jurisdiction over image rights agreements separate from employment contracts, and reinforces that liquidated damages clauses in player contracts must be clear and proportionate. It also illustrates the CAS's discretion to moderate compensation based on the player's own lack of diligence in negotiating.
Summary
Florian Thauvin, a French professional footballer, signed a five-year employment contract with Mexican club Tigres de la UANL in April 2021, with a monthly net salary of MXN 6,497,493 (approx. EUR 3.2 million annually). The contract included a liquidated damages clause of EUR 30 million if the player terminated early, but only referenced Mexican labor law for club termination. Separately, the parties signed an image rights agreement paying EUR 800,000 annually plus a EUR 2 million signing bonus. In January 2023, Tigres terminated the employment contract without just cause, paying Thauvin MXN 16,480,000 (three months' salary) as statutory indemnity. Thauvin immediately signed with Udinese Calcio for EUR 3.7 million net over 2.5 seasons. He then filed a claim with FIFA's Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) for breach of contract without just cause, seeking EUR 10.5 million in compensation (including residual value of both contracts minus his new salary). The DRC awarded him the full EUR 10.5 million, declaring the liquidated damages clause null and void as disproportionate, and asserting jurisdiction over the image rights agreement as an annex to the employment contract. Tigres appealed to the CAS. The CAS panel (President Carmen Núñez-Lagos, arbitrators Anna Peniche and Jordi López Batet) partially upheld the appeal. It held that the image rights agreement was a separate contract and FIFA's DRC lacked jurisdiction over it, so claims under that agreement were dismissed. On the employment contract, the panel confirmed the DRC's finding that the liquidated damages clause was invalid due to lack of clarity and unequal bargaining power. However, the panel reduced the compensation from EUR 10.5 million to EUR 3.2 million (plus the MXN 16.48 million already paid), reasoning that Thauvin, as an experienced professional with substantial resources, had failed to exercise due diligence in negotiating and understanding the contract, which contributed to the dispute. The panel also noted that the compensation should reflect the player's own responsibility. The CAS confirmed the sporting sanctions (transfer ban) if Tigres fails to pay. The award was rendered in Spanish on 23 May 2024.
The detail
Parties: TAS 2023 A 9819 Tigres de la UANL c. Florian Thauvin & FIFA
Outcome: The CAS partially upheld Tigres' appeal, reducing the compensation payable to Thauvin from EUR 10,500,000 to EUR 3,200,000 (plus MXN 16,480,000 already paid), and ruled that FIFA's DRC lacked jurisdiction over the image rights agreement.
Quantum: EUR 3,200,000 net plus MXN 16,480,000 already paid
Applicable law: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP), Mexican Federal Labor Law (LFT), and the CAS Code of Sports-related Arbitration
Issues in play: The collision was between the contractual liquidated damages clause (EUR 30 million) and the FIFA RSTP Article 17 compensation principles, as well as between Mexican labor law and FIFA's jurisdiction over image rights agreements.
Read the full decision at Court of Arbitration for Sport (football, via FIFA) ↗
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