Non-performance of monetary obligations between clubs, players and agents – unpaid wages, unpaid bonuses, commissions owed or transfer fees – gives rise to collection proceedings with particularities of their own in this sector, which may involve both the Portuguese ordinary courts and FIFA’s dispute resolution bodies, depending on the national or international dimension of the dispute in question. This article forms part of the Sports Law area of Araújo & Associados.
Debts with a national dimension – the ordinary courts
Where the dispute involves only Portuguese parties – a player and a domestic club, for example -, the collection of salary debts or debts of another nature follows, as a rule, the ordinary routes of Portuguese law, including a declaratory action to establish the right to the debt and, where appropriate, enforcement of the judgment obtained. We describe these routes in more detail in the article Enforcement of judgments in Portugal – how to recover what you are owed, available in the Litigation area.
The mechanism of Article 12bis of the FIFA RSTP – overdue payables
In disputes with an international dimension, the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) have provided since 2015, in Article 12bis, for a specific mechanism for so-called overdue payables – monetary obligations that have fallen due and are unpaid, including wages and other sums owed, such as signing-on bonuses. Where the delay in payment extends beyond 30 days from the relevant due date, the player (or the creditor club, as the case may be) may formally notify the debtor party under this article, granting it a period of 10 days to regularise the situation.
Sporting sanctions for non-payment – the “FIFA bans”
If the situation is not regularised within the period granted, the creditor may lodge a complaint with the competent FIFA body – currently part of the so-called Football Tribunal -, which may impose on the debtor club, cumulatively, sanctions ranging from a warning and reprimand to a fine and a temporary ban on registering or transferring players, both nationally and internationally, until the debt is paid in full. These measures, popularly known as “FIFA bans”, function essentially as an instrument to coerce payment, and not as an autonomous punishment: as soon as the monetary obligation in question is met, the sanction is, as a rule, lifted immediately. Article 24 of the RSTP also provides for a mechanism for automatic enforcement of FIFA’s financial decisions – if the debtor club does not comply within the period set in the decision, the ban on registering players takes effect automatically, without any need to initiate additional disciplinary proceedings.
The Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) and the Court of Arbitration for Sport
The FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) is the body competent to decide disputes between clubs and players with an international dimension relating to contractual stability, as well as disputes relating to training compensation and the solidarity mechanism between clubs affiliated to different national federations. DRC decisions may, as a rule, be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS/TAS), based in Switzerland, which is the leading international arbitral forum for sports disputes. Failure to comply with a final decision of a FIFA body or of the CAS may also give rise, independently, to other sporting sanctions, including the deduction of points or, in more serious cases, relegation.
Enforcement of FIFA and CAS decisions in Portugal
Decisions issued by FIFA bodies and by the Court of Arbitration for Sport may, where necessary, be recognised and enforced in Portugal, in particular under the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, to which Portugal is a party without reservations relevant for this purpose. This enforcement mechanism is a complementary route to the sporting sanctions applied directly by FIFA, particularly relevant where compulsory satisfaction of the debt is sought through the debtor’s assets in Portuguese territory.
Debt collection in sport and other related matters
The debts collected in this context frequently arise from non-performance of sports employment contracts, dealt with in the article Sports contracts in Portugal – what you need to know, or from situations of dismissal for just cause that give rise to compensation not paid voluntarily, described in the article Dismissal for just cause in sport – what you need to know.
About Araújo & Associados
Established in 1980, with offices in Porto and Lisbon, Araújo & Associados supports clubs, players and agents in debt collection proceedings in sport, both nationally and internationally, in Portuguese, English, French, German and Spanish.
Frequently asked questions about debt collection in sport
What is an "overdue payable" in football?
It is a monetary obligation that has fallen due and is unpaid, the delay of which for more than 30 days allows the creditor to trigger the specific mechanism provided for in Article 12bis of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, applicable to disputes with an international dimension.
What happens if a club does not pay overdue wages even after being notified?
The creditor may lodge a complaint with the competent FIFA body, which may impose sporting sanctions on the club, including a ban on registering or transferring players until the debt is paid in full – the so-called “FIFA bans”.
Are "FIFA bans" lifted automatically once the club pays the debt?
As a rule, yes. These sanctions function essentially as an instrument to coerce payment, and are normally lifted as soon as the monetary obligation in question is paid in full.
Can a decision of FIFA or the Court of Arbitration for Sport be enforced in Portugal?
Yes, as a rule, in particular under the 1958 New York Convention, to which Portugal is a party, which allows the recognition and enforcement in Portuguese territory of foreign arbitral awards, including those issued by the CAS/TAS.
Does a wage dispute between a Portuguese player and a Portuguese club follow the same routes as an international dispute?
No. Disputes without an international dimension follow, as a rule, the ordinary routes of Portuguese law, including the national courts, and not FIFA’s specific mechanisms, which presuppose an international dimension to the dispute.
How long does a club have to regularise a payment after being notified under Article 12bis of the RSTP?
As a rule, 10 days from notification, after which, if the situation is not regularised, the creditor may lodge a complaint with the competent FIFA body.
Contact us
For more information on debt collection in sport, or to book a legal consultation, you can contact us through our Porto or Lisbon offices, by telephone, email or via the form on the website. We provide legal advice in Portuguese, English, French, German and Spanish.