Relevant Laws On Settlement Of Football Disputes
By Oyetola Muyiwa Atoyebi, SAN, FCIArb. (UK).
INTRODUCTION
Football (also known as Soccer), is a sport consisting of two (2) teams totalling 22 players, 11 on each team, who without using their arms and hands, try to manoeuvre a ball into opposing goals. It is an immensely popular sport with over more than 250 million people around the world playing the sport and over 1.3 billion people interested in it. It can be played in almost any location. Football has been in existence for quite some time dating as far as medieval and older, though modern football originated in Britain in the 19th century[1].
The game’s first uniform set of rules was put in place in 1863, when England’s Football Association was created. FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) was founded in 1904, and has hosted the World Cup every four years since 1930. It is responsible for organising and promoting football’s major international tournaments. It is currently the world’s most popular ball game. It originally had 7 member nations but subsequently expanded to 24 in 1914 and as of 2021, it possesses a total of 209 member associations[2]. The FIFA World Cup is arguably the single biggest sporting attraction in the world after the Olympic Games.
The phrase Laws of the Game are the codified rules of football. Its laws mention the basic rules of the games, the offside law and many other laws that define the sport. The Laws of the Game consist of seventeen individual laws, each law containing several rules and directions. It is a referee’s job to interpret and enforce the Laws of the Game. These Laws are the only rules that FIFA permits its members to use, and almost all organized football worldwide is played under the same ruleset[3]. These laws have, since 1886, been maintained by the International Football Association Board (IFAB).
This article aims to discuss the general implications of relevant laws in the settlement of disputes arising from Football games.
As any organisation rises or evolves, there are bound to be problems, the same can be said for Association Football. In 2001 FIFA set up the Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC), with its aim to avoid court-based legal proceedings and settle all football-related internal disputes. The point has often been made that where the sport lacks a means within its structures to effectively and efficiently resolve sports-related disputes, seeking redress from the court is inevitable. This often disrupts the sports calendar and brings typical litigation challenges.
The need for arbitration in football arose after the ruling of the Court in the Marc-Jean Bosman case[4], which was based on the free movement of players within Europe. Despite having won the case, the player lost a good portion of his career due to the fact the case took five years to be resolved by the court whilst he was still 25 years old. For Bosman, the length of time used in settling the case was injurious to his professional career. For the football governing body, the ruling amounted to an encroachment into its sphere of regulation and resulted in a shake-up of its rules[5]. The FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) is provided for under Article 5 par. 2 of the FIFA Statutes:
“FIFA shall provide necessary institutional means to resolve any disputes that may arise between or among member associations, confederations, clubs, officials and players.”
One of the principles of the agreement reached between FIFA/UEFA and the European Commission in March 2001 is that the DRC will be established to provide for an appropriate dispute resolution system inside the football structures, without prejudice to the right of any player or club to seek redress before a civil court for employment-related disputes.
It is important to note that the FIFA Statutes expressly recognize the jurisdiction of the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) “to resolve disputes between FIFA, Members, Confederation, Leagues, Clubs, Players, Officials and Licensed match agents and players’ agents”[6]. Its headquarters is located in Switzerland and as a result, possesses a mostly appellate jurisdiction after dispute resolution channels may have been exhausted[7].
The development of football in Nigeria began since June 15, 1904, when the first recorded football match occurred. In Nigeria, there is a football governing body, established in 1938 under the CAF. It was formerly known as Nigerian Football Association until its reconstitution in November 1948, but 60 years later on July 24, 2008, it was changed to Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). The NFF is a member associate recognized by CAF and FIFA as being responsible for the organization and supervision of football in Nigeria. In 2007, FIFA issued a circular to its member associations decrying the fact that only a few of its members had established a judicial body to adjudicate over employment disputes between players and clubs and advocating the establishment of NDRCs to lighten the burden and ease the process of adjudication. NFF and other domestic football employment organizations were entrusted by FIFA with the initial responsibility of adjudicating over domestic football employment disputes.
The failure of football authorities to create institutions for internal dispute resolutions has led to many football disputes going unresolved or being referred to as ordinary Courts of law. In its absence, the Players’ Status Committee has had to bear a heavy burden with respect to the resolving of disputes involving the status and transfer of players, employment and contractual stability. The Players’ Status Committee is established under Article 59 of the NFF Statutes for the purpose of regulating the transfer system and status of players. There is also provision for an Arbitration Tribunal to be set up to settle disputes relating to players’ status within the Nigerian football family[8].
As a result of the inadequacy of the Players’ Status Committee Arbitration Tribunal, there have been many complaints from The Association of Professional Footballers of Nigeria (APFON). An example of one of these inadequacies is the disputes involving Warri Wolves FC. The club gained promotion to the top-flight in the 2008/09 league season and typically recruited a host of players to play in the top-flight league campaign. Despite finishing fourth in the final standings, at the end of that season, the club refused to renew the contracts of no less than 18 of its players. Apart from the non-renewal of their contracts, these players were aggrieved for being unceremoniously disengaged without the payment of their financial entitlements, including sign-on fees, and took their case to the Players’ Status and Arbitration Committee set up by the NFF. After days of deliberation, with the club and players duly represented, the tribunal made an award in favour of the 18 former players of Warri Wolves, directing the club to pay them a combined total of ₦16,625,000.00 as financial entitlements owed. It is a positive remark that the tribunal sittings were concluded within just three days (10 – 12 May 2010), and the tribunal delivered its decision on 20 May, 2010.
Nonetheless, the sad reality is that while many more cases remain unresolved, this award has neither been complied with nor appealed against by the club, nor enforced by the football authorities[9]. The means of enforcement of decisions of the Dispute Resolution Chamber as established by FIFA rules is an institution of disciplinary proceedings against the defaulting party; this may include the exclusion from the competition. The scope of jurisdiction of the National Industrial Court covers labour and employment-related matters. It is pertinent to point out that this jurisdiction includes the matters relating to the enforcement, interpretation or appeal against any award or ruling made by any tribunal or administrative body in respect of a labour or employment dispute.
The scope of jurisdiction of the National Industrial Court then ordinarily covers employment disputes between football players and their clubs, including any award, decision or ruling made by a football administrative/arbitral tribunal in respect of such disputes. An instance would be the dispute between Warri Wolves FC and its former players highlighted earlier. Indeed, this implies that the former players of Warri Wolves, who obtained an arbitral award against the club, could approach the National Industrial Court for the purpose of enforcing the award. As a matter of fact, that is what some of them did[10].
In the case of FC Dinamo Minsk v Christian Obodo, which was a tribunal, the matter was instituted in 2015 and a verdict was given in 2016. One can see how fast tribunals can be. Within the space of one year, the rights and liabilities of the parties were determined. It is sad to state that Nigeria has not established the NDRC for the resolution of football disputes in Nigeria. It is submitted that since the NFF has neglected to establish the NDRC, a statutory NDRC should be enacted vide an Act of the National Assembly. In the alternative, the Nigerian Football Federation Act should be amended with the inclusion of NDRC as a statutory tribunal. Upon the enactment, its jurisdiction would be solely for resolving football disputes and other related matters. The nonexistence of a functional dispute resolution chamber in Nigeria has resulted in many football disputes either going unresolved or being taken to a regular Court.
In 2004, Ray Nnaji instituted a legal action in the Federal High Court against the National Executive of the Nigerian Referees Association, on the ground that the National Executive is not the proper party to conduct the elections into all the offices of the Association. During the course of the proceeding, a preliminary objection was raised to the effect that the plaintiff lacked the locus standi to sue the Association, on the ground that he has neither been nominated as a candidate, nor paid fees in accordance with the rules of the Association. The Court agreed with the defendants and concluded that the plaintiff’s suit is incompetent as he lacks the requisite locus standi to institute same.
Ray Nnaji, aggrieved by this decision, appealed to the Court of Appeal. It took the Court of Appeal six years to hear the appeal. In the determination of the appeal, it allowed the appeal and ordered that the case be remitted to the trial Court to be re-assigned by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to another Judge who should determine it on the merits. It is most likely that if recourse had been made to an available internal arbitration tribunal, such as NDRC, the disputes between Nnaji and the Association he sought to be a part of would not have lingered for more than seven years unresolved[11].
Prior to the NFF bill, Nigeria operated within the framework of the Nigerian Football Association (NFA) Act which has over time proven to be insufficient in aligning Nigeria’s interest with global standard practices or more so fostering a smooth administration in the country. The dispute resolution provisions under the bill is in line with Article 59 (3) of the FIFA Statute which provides that a member association shall insert a clause in their statutes or regulations, stipulating that it is prohibited to take disputes in the association or disputes affecting leagues, member of leagues, clubs, members of clubs, players, officials and other association officials to ordinary Courts of law, unless the FIFA regulations or binding legal provisions specifically provide for or stipulate recourse to ordinary courts of law. Instead of recourse to ordinary Courts of law, provision shall be made for arbitration. Such disputes shall be taken to an independent and duly constituted arbitration tribunal recognised under the rules of the association or CAS[12].
Football disputes happen in a lot of matches and settling all of them in Court is counterproductive and mostly leads to long and arduous cases that may not be resolved in time, and cause damage to the parties’ careers and financial situation. Therefore, active steps in the creation of a Dispute Chamber will lead to a smoother and relatively easier way of resolving these disputes, without the need for unnecessary litigation.
AUTHOR: Oyetola Muyiwa Atoyebi, SAN, FCIArb. (UK).
Mr. Oyetola Muyiwa Atoyebi, SAN is the Managing Partner of O. M. Atoyebi, S.A.N & Partners (OMAPLEX Law Firm) where he also doubles as the Team Lead of the Firm’s Emerging Areas of Law Practice.
Mr. Atoyebi has expertise in and a vast knowledge of International Sports Law and Arbitration and this has seen him advise and represent his vast clientele in a myriad of high level transactions. He holds the honour of being the youngest lawyer in Nigeria’s history to be conferred with the rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
He can be reached at [email protected]
CONTRIBUTOR: Ibrahim Wali.
Ibrahim is a Team Lead in the Dispute Resolution Team at OMAPLEX Law Firm. He also holds commendable legal expertise in Sports Law.
He can be reached at [email protected].
[1] Jack Rollin, Soccer, Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/sports/football-soccer date accessed: 28th July, 2022
[2] Zia Ahmed, The role, purpose and impact of FIFA, Howandwhat, https://howandwhat.net/the-role-purpose-and-impact-of-fifa/ date accessed: 28th July, 2022
[3] Laws of the Game, Wikipedia, https://www.britannica.com/sports/football-soccer date accessed: 28th July, 2022
[4] Union Royale Belge des Societes de Football Association ASBL v. Jean-Marc Bosman (1995) ECR 1-4921
[5] Ayomide o. Eribake, ARBITRATION IN FOOTBALL; The Roles of the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber & Court Of Arbitration For Sports, Judy, https://blog.judy.legal/arbitration-in-football/ date accessed: 28th July, 2022
[6] Article 66(1) of FIFA Statutes, July 2013 edition
[7] Article 67 of FIFA Statutes, July 2013 edition
[8] Kelvin C. Omuojine, Esq, Dispute Resolution in Nigerian Football: The Need For A National Dispute Resolution Chamber, African Sports Law and Business Bulletin 2/2014, http://www.africansportslawjournal.com/Bulletin_2_2014_Omuojine.pdf Accessed 24th August 2022.
[9] Ibid 8
[10] Ibid 8
[11] Bridget Edokwe, Alternative Dispute Resolution: A Goal Scored for Nigerian Football Disputes- By Nonso Obiadazie, BarristerNG, https://barristerng.com/alternative-dispute-resolution-a-goal-scored-for-nigerian-football-disputes-by-nonso-obiadazie/ Accessed 24th August, 2022.
[12] Unini Chioma, Highlights of the proposed bill for the establishment of the Nigerian football federation and other connected matters therewith, 2019 by Chiemeka Felix Nwosu, The Nigerian Lawyers, https://thenigerialawyer.com/highlights-of-the-proposed-bill-for-the-establishment-of-the-nigeria-football-federation-and-other-connected-matters-therewith-2019-by-chiemeka-felix-nwosu/ Accessed 24th August 2022.
