Football Tribunal FAQ
Contractual disputes
Subject to the relevant FIFA regulations, only the following natural or legal persons may be a party before the Football Tribunal:
member associations;
clubs affiliated to a member association;
players;
coaches;
football agents licensed by FIFA;* or
match agents licensed by FIFA.
* Subject to and following the approval of the Football Agent Regulations by the FIFA Council.
A party may appoint an authorised representative to act on its behalf in any procedure. It shall provide written authorisation to be represented in the specific procedure (cf. article 9 paragraph 2 and article 18 paragraph 1 lit. b) of the Procedural Rules). The authorisation must have been issued recently (e.g. within the previous six months), make a clear reference to the parties involved in the dispute before the Football Tribunal, and be dated and signed by the party.
In their application and adjudication of law, the Football Tribunal shall apply the FIFA Statutes and FIFA regulations, whilst taking into account all relevant arrangements, laws, and/or collective bargaining agreements that exist at national level, as well as the specificity of sport (cf. article 3 of the Procedural Rules).
The Football Tribunal shall not hear any case if more than two years have elapsed since the event giving rise to the dispute. Application of this time limit shall be examined ex officio in each individual case (cf. article 23 paragraph 3 of the RSTP).
Any claim or submission (including any documentary evidence) to the Football Tribunal shall be made in an official FIFA language (English, French, or Spanish).
Any claim or submission (including any documentary evidence) to the Football Tribunal not made in an official FIFA language, or not translated in an official FIFA language, will be disregarded (cf. article 13 paragraph 1 of the Procedural Rules).
In contractual disputes before the DRC and the PSC, a claim or counterclaim shall contain the following (cf. article 18 of the Procedural Rules):
the name and address(es) for notification of the party;
(if applicable) the name and address(es) for notification of any authorised representative, and a copy of a written, specific and recent power of attorney;
the identity and address(es) for service of the respondent(s);
a statement of claim, setting out full written arguments in fact and law, the full body of evidence, and requests for relief;
the details of a bank account registered in the name of the claimant on a signed copy of the Bank Account Registration Form;
the date and a valid signature; and
(if applicable) proof of payment of the relevant advance of costs (cf. article 25 paragraphs 1, 3 and 4 and Annexe 1 of the Procedural Rules).
The Bank Account Registration Form is a document containing the bank account details of a party to a dispute before the Football Tribunal and can be found at legal.fifa.com. Provision of this data with the claim allows for the efficient execution of a Football Tribunal decision. The bank account listed on the Bank Account Registration Form must be held by and registered in the name of the party. The only exception is for jointly held bank accounts where the party is one of the joint holders. Any Bank Account Registration Form which lists a bank account held by a third party (e.g. an authorised representative, affiliated member association or affiliated league) will not be accepted.
Upon receipt of the claim, the FIFA general secretariat will assess whether the regulatory requirements have been met. If the claim is incomplete, the FIFA general secretariat will inform the claimant and request rectification If the claim is not rectified within the time limit given, it is deemed to be withdrawn and will need to be resubmitted. If this occurs, the resubmitted claim will be treated as a new claim as from the date of its submission, including for the purposes of examining whether the two-year time limit has been respected.
Contractual disputes shall be submitted via the Legal Portal legalportal.fifa.com. All communications shall be undertaken via the Legal Portal operated by FIFA. Communications from FIFA to a party via the Legal Portal is considered a valid means of communication and sufficient to establish time limits and their observance. Parties must review the Legal Portal at least once per day for any communications from FIFA. Parties are responsible for any procedural disadvantages that may arise due to a failure to properly undertake such review. The contact details indicated in TMS are binding on the party that provided them (cf. article 10 of the Procedural Rules).
A party that asserts a fact has the burden of proving it. Any type of evidence may be produced. A chamber has ultimate discretion as to the weight it gives to evidence (cf. article 13 paragraphs 3 and 5 of the Procedural Rules).
Procedures before the Football Tribunal are free of charge where at least one of the parties is a player, coach, football agent, or match agent. Procedural costs are payable in all other types of matters (e.g. club vs. club disputes). The fixed amounts are defined in Annexe 1 of the Procedural Rules and are payable in USD dollars (USD). The relevant chamber will decide the amount that each party is due to pay, in consideration of the parties’ degree of success and their conduct during the procedure, as well as any advance of costs paid. In exceptional circumstances, the chamber may order that FIFA assumes all procedural costs (cf. article 25 paragraph 5 of the Procedural Rules). A party that has been ordered to pay procedural costs is only obliged to pay where: a) it requests the grounds of the decision after having been notified of the operative part; or b) the decision has been notified directly with grounds.
An advance of costs is only payable for proceedings before the PSC (i.e. club v. club disputes), with the exception of proceedings relating to regulatory applications (cf. article 25 paragraph 3 of the Procedural Rules). The amount of the advance is defined in Annexe 1 of the Procedural Rules and is payable in USD dollars (USD).
A procedure may be referred directly to the chairperson of the relevant chamber of the Football Tribunal for an expedited decision where the FIFA general secretariat, following an initial assessment of the claim, establishes that either the relevant chamber obviously does not have jurisdiction and/or the claim is obviously time-barred. If the chairperson of the relevant chamber of the Football Tribunal considers that the claim is not affected by any of these preliminary procedural matters, they shall order the FIFA general secretariat to continue the procedure (cf. article 19 of the Procedural Rules).
In disputes without prima facie complex facts or legal issues, or in cases where there is clear established jurisprudence, the FIFA general secretariat may make a proposal to finalise the matter without a decision issued by a chamber (cf. article 20 of the Procedural Rules). A party shall accept or reject the proposal within the time limit granted by the FIFA general secretariat.
A party that fails to respond to the proposal shall be deemed to have accepted it. Where a proposal is accepted (or not rejected), a confirmation letter will be issued by the FIFA general secretariat. The confirmation letter shall be considered a final and binding decision pursuant to the relevant FIFA regulations (cf. article 20 paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Procedural Rules).
Where a proposal is rejected, the procedure will follow the normal steps set out in the Procedural Rules. As such, the respondent(s) must submit their response within the time limit indicated in the proposal (cf. article 20 paragraph 5 of the Procedural Rules). If the respondent(s) fail(s) to submit a response to the claim within the time limit, a decision will be made based on the file (cf. article 21 paragraph 1 of the Procedural Rules).
No. A party can only accept or reject the proposal made by the FIFA general secretariat.
The respondent(s) may submit a counterclaim with their response to the claim. A counterclaim shall have the same form as a claim and must be submitted within the same time limit as that for the response to the claim (cf. article 21 paragraph 2 of the Procedural Rules). The claimant will be provided an opportunity to respond to the counterclaim. A response to a counterclaim submitted (by a claimant) after the time limit expires will not be considered (cf. article 21 paragraph 6 of the Procedural Rules).
No. Parties shall bear all their own costs in connection with any procedure (cf. article 25 paragraph 8 of the Procedural Rules).
Decisions by the Football Tribunal enter into force as soon as notification occurs. Notification is deemed complete when the decision is communicated to a party. Notification of an authorised representative will be regarded as notification of the party which they represent (cf. article 15 paragraph 2 of the Procedural Rules). Generally, a party will only be notified of the operative part of a decision. Decisions that immediately impose sporting sanctions against a party will only be communicated with grounds.
A party has ten calendar days from notification of the operative part of the decision to request the grounds of the decision. Failure to comply with the time limit shall result in the decision becoming final and binding and the party will be deemed to have waived its right to file an appeal (cf. article 15 paragraph 5 of the Procedural Rules). Where procedural costs are ordered: notification of the grounds of a decision will only be made to the party that has requested the grounds of the decision. Notification will occur following payment of its share of the procedural costs within ten calendar days from notification of the operative part of the decision (cf. article 15 paragraph 6 of the Procedural Rules).
Failure to comply with the time limit to pay the procedural costs shall result in the request for the grounds being deemed to have been withdrawn. As a result, the decision will become final and binding and the party is deemed to have waived its right to file an appeal (cf. article 15 paragraph 7 of the Procedural Rules).
A decision by the Football Tribunal may be appealed at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 21 days of the notification of the grounds of the decision (cf. article 57 paragraph 1 of the FIFA Statutes).
Where the Football Tribunal orders a party to pay another party or a proposal made by the FIFA general secretariat is confirmed, the consequences of failure to pay the relevant amounts in due time are included in the decision or confirmation letter (cf. article 24 paragraph 1 of the RSTP and Annexe 2, article 8 paragraph 8 of the RSTP). Such consequences shall be the following: a) Against a club: a ban from registering any new players, either nationally or internationally, up until the due amounts are paid. The overall maximum duration of the registration ban shall be of up to three entire and consecutive registration periods; b) Against an association: a restriction on receiving a percentage of development funding, up until the due amounts are paid; c) Against a coach: a restriction on any football-related activity up until the due amounts are paid. The overall maximum duration of the restriction shall be of up to six months; or d) Against a player: a restriction on playing in official matches up until the due amounts are paid. The overall maximum duration of the restriction shall be of up to six months on playing in official matches.
Where consequences are included in the decision or confirmation letter, the debtor must pay the full amount due (including all applicable interest) to the creditor within 45 days of notification of the decision or confirmation letter. The time limit is paused by a valid request for the grounds of the decision. Following notification of the grounds of the decision, the time limit shall recommence. The time limit is also paused by an appeal to CAS.
Where a debtor fails to make full payment (including all applicable interest) within the time limit, and the decision has become final and binding, the consequences shall be applied immediately at the creditor’s request (cf. article 24 paragraph 7 and Annexe 2, article 8 paragraph 7 of the RSTP). The consequences shall enter into force after FIFA has notified the debtor accordingly. The consequences may only be lifted upon notification by FIFA, provided that the debtor submits proof of payment of the full amount and the creditor confirms receipt. Where full payment (including all applicable interest) has not been made, the consequences shall remain in force until it is made.
The FIFA general secretariat may publish decisions of the Football Tribunal or CAS awards that derive from appeals against decisions of the Football Tribunal on legal.fifa.com. Where a decision contains confidential information, a party may request within five days of the notification of the grounds of the decision that FIFA publish an anonymised or a redacted version (cf. article 17 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Procedural Rules).
Solidarity mechanism and Training compensation disputes
A party may appoint an authorised representative to act on its behalf in any procedure. It shall provide written authorisation to be represented in the specific procedure (cf. article 9 paragraph 2 and article 18 paragraph 1 lit. b) of the Procedural Rules). The authorisation must have been issued recently (e.g. within the last six months), make a clear reference to the parties involved in the dispute before the Football Tribunal, and be dated and signed by the party.
In their application and adjudication of law, the Football Tribunal shall apply the FIFA Statutes and FIFA regulations, whilst taking into account all relevant arrangements, laws, and/or collective bargaining agreements that exist at national level, as well as the specificity of sport (cf. article 3 of the Procedural Rules).
The Football Tribunal shall not hear any case if more than two years have elapsed since the event giving rise to the dispute. Application of this time limit shall be examined ex officio in each individual case (cf. article 23 paragraph 3 of the RSTP).
Any claim or submission (including any documentary evidence) to the Football Tribunal shall be made in an official FIFA language (English, French, Spanish or German). Any claim or submission (including any documentary evidence) to the Football Tribunal not made in an official FIFA language, or not translated in an official FIFA language, will be disregarded (cf. article 13 paragraph 1 of the Procedural Rules).
For claims related to training compensation or the solidarity mechanism, the claim shall contain the following (cf. article 27 of the Procedural Rules):
the name and address(es) for service of the claimant;
(if applicable) the name and address(es) for service of any authorised representative, and a copy of a written, specific, and recent power of attorney;
a statement of claim, setting out full written arguments in fact and law, the full body of evidence, and requests for relief;
the details of a bank account registered in the name of the claimant on a signed copy of the Bank Account Registration Form;
(if applicable) confirmation from the claimant’s member association of the start and end dates of its sporting season during the period when the player was registered with the claimant;
complete career history of the player, setting out all clubs with which they have been registered since the calendar year of their 12th birthday until the date of their registration with the respondent club, taking into account any possible interruptions, as well as indicating the status of the player (amateur or professional) when registered, and whether such registration was permanent or temporary; and
(if applicable) evidence that the club in question – with which the professional was registered and trained – has in the meantime ceased to participate in organised football and/or no longer exists due to, in particular, bankruptcy, liquidation, dissolution or loss of affiliation.
For training compensation only:
(if applicable) confirmation from the claimant’s member association of the category of the claimant;
(if applicable) the category of the respondent(s);
(if applicable) information about the exact date of the first registration of the player as a professional;
(if applicable) information about the exact date of the transfer on which the claim is based; and
(if applicable) evidence of a professional contract offer.
For the solidarity mechanism only:
information about the exact date of the transfer on which the claim is based;
information about the clubs involved in the transfer on which the claim is based;
the percentage of the solidarity contribution claimed; and
the alleged amount for which the player was transferred to their new club, if known, or a statement to the effect that the amount is currently not known.
The Bank Account Registration Form is a document containing the bank account details of a party to a dispute before the Football Tribunal and can be located at legal.fifa.com. Provision of this data with the claim allows for the efficient execution of a Football Tribunal decision. The bank account listed on the Bank Account Registration Form must be held by and registered in the name of the party. The only exception is for jointly held bank accounts where the party is one of the joint holders. Any Bank Account Registration Form which lists a bank account held by a third party (e.g. an authorised representative, affiliated member association or affiliated league) will not be accepted.
Upon receipt of the claim, the FIFA general secretariat will assess whether the regulatory requirements have been met. If the claim is incomplete, the FIFA general secretariat will inform the claimant and request rectification. If the claim is not rectified within the time limit given, it is deemed to be withdrawn and will need to be resubmitted. If this occurs, the resubmitted claim will be treated as a new claim as from the date of its submission, including for the purposes of examining whether the two-year time limit has been respected.
A party must submit a claim for training compensation or the solidarity mechanism in the Transfer Matching System (TMS) (cf. article 27 of the Procedural Rules). Parties with a TMS account must review the respective tabs in TMS daily for any communications from FIFA (cf. article 10 paragraph 5 of the Procedural Rules). Member associations and clubs are responsible for any procedural disadvantages that may arise due to a failure to properly undertake such review.
A party that asserts a fact has the burden of proving it. Any type of evidence may be produced. A chamber has ultimate discretion as to the weight it gives to evidence (cf. article 13 paragraphs 3 and 5 of the Procedural Rules).
No. Procedural costs are payable. The fixed amounts are defined in Annexe 1 of the Procedural Rules and are payable in USD. The chamber will decide the amount that each party is due to pay, in consideration of the parties’ degree of success and their conduct during the procedure. In exceptional circumstances, the chamber may order that FIFA assumes all procedural costs (cf. article 25 paragraph 5 of the Procedural Rules). A party that has been ordered to pay procedural costs is only obliged to pay where: a) it requests the grounds of the decision after having been notified of the operative part; or b) the decision has been notified directly with grounds.
No. No advance of costs is payable in procedures relating to training rewards, which are decided by the DRC. An advance of costs is only payable for procedures before the PSC, with the exception of procedures relating to regulatory applications (cf. article 25 paragraph 3 of the Procedural Rules).
A party may appoint an authorised representative to act on its behalf in any procedure. It shall provide written authorisation to be represented in the specific procedure (cf. article 9 paragraph 2 and article 18 paragraph 1 lit. b) of the Procedural Rules). The authorisation must have been issued recently (e.g. within the last six months), make a clear reference to the parties involved in the dispute before the Football Tribunal, and be dated and signed by the party.
In disputes without prima facie complex facts or legal issues, or in cases where there is clear established jurisprudence, the FIFA general secretariat may make a proposal to finalise the matter without a decision issued by a chamber (cf. article 20 of the Procedural Rules). A party shall accept or reject the proposal within the time limit granted by the FIFA general secretariat.
A party that fails to respond to the proposal shall be deemed to have accepted it. Where a proposal is accepted (or not rejected), a confirmation letter will be issued by the FIFA general secretariat. The confirmation letter shall be considered a final and binding decision pursuant to the relevant FIFA regulations (cf. article 20 paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Procedural Rules).
Where a proposal is rejected, the procedure will follow the normal steps set out in the Procedural Rules. As such, the respondent(s) must submit their response within the time limit indicated in the proposal (cf. article 20 paragraph 5 of the Procedural Rules). If the respondent(s) fail(s) to submit a response to the claim within the time limit, a decision will be made based on the file (cf. article 21 paragraph 1 of the Procedural Rules).
No. A party can only accept or reject the proposal made by the FIFA general secretariat.
The respondent(s) may submit a counterclaim with their response to the claim. A counterclaim shall have the same form as a claim and must be submitted within the same time limit as that for the response to the claim (cf. article 21 paragraph 2 of the Procedural Rules). The claimant will be provided an opportunity to respond to the counterclaim. A response to a counterclaim submitted (by a claimant) after the time limit expires will not be considered (cf. article 21 paragraph 6 of the Procedural Rules).
No. Parties shall bear all their own costs in connection with any procedure (cf. article 25 paragraph 8 of the Procedural Rules).
Decisions by the Football Tribunal enter into force as soon as notification occurs. Notification is deemed complete when the decision is communicated to a party. Notification of an authorised representative will be regarded as notification of the party which they represent (cf. article 15 paragraph 2 of the Procedural Rules). Generally, a party will only be notified of the operative part of a decision. Decisions that immediately impose sporting sanctions against a party will only be communicated with grounds.
A party has ten calendar days from notification of the operative part of the decision to request the grounds of the decision. Failure to comply with the time limit shall result in the decision becoming final and binding and the party will be deemed to have waived its right to file an appeal (cf. article 15 paragraph 5 of the Procedural Rules). Notification of the grounds of a decision will only be made to the party that has requested the grounds of the decision. Notification will occur following payment of its share of the procedural costs within ten calendar days from notification of the operative part of the decision (cf. article 15 paragraph 6 of the Procedural Rules). In cases related to the payment of training rewards, the grounds of the decision have to be requested in TMS. A request sent by any other means will not be considered valid.
Failure to comply with the time limit to pay the procedural costs shall result in the request for the grounds being deemed to have been withdrawn. As a result, the decision will become final and binding and the party is deemed to have waived its right to file an appeal (cf. article 15 paragraph 7 of the Procedural Rules).
A decision by the Football Tribunal may be appealed at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 21 days of the notification of the grounds of the decision (cf. article 57 paragraph 1 of the FIFA Statutes).
Where the Football Tribunal orders a party to pay another party or a proposal made by the FIFA general secretariat is confirmed, the consequences of failure to pay the relevant amounts in due time are included in the decision or confirmation letter (cf. article 24 paragraph 1 of the RSTP and Annexe 2, article 8 paragraph 8 of the RSTP). Such consequences against a club will be a ban from registering any new players, either nationally or internationally, up until the due amounts are paid. The overall maximum duration of the registration ban shall be of up to three entire and consecutive registration periods.
Where consequences are included in the decision or confirmation letter, the debtor must pay the full amount due (including all applicable interest) to the creditor within 45 days of notification of the decision or confirmation letter. The time limit is paused by a valid request for the grounds of the decision. Following notification of the grounds of the decision, the time limit shall recommence. The time limit is also paused by an appeal to CAS.
Where a debtor fails to make full payment (including all applicable interest) within the time limit, and the decision has become final and binding, the consequences shall be applied immediately at the creditor’s request (cf. article 24 paragraph 7 and Annexe 2, article 8 paragraph 7 of the RSTP). The consequences shall enter into force after FIFA has notified the debtor accordingly. The consequences may only be lifted upon notification by FIFA, provided that the debtor submits proof of payment of the full amount and the creditor confirms receipt. Where full payment (including all applicable interest) has not been made, the consequences shall remain in force until it is made.
The FIFA general secretariat may publish decisions of the Football Tribunal or CAS awards that derive from appeals against decisions of the Football Tribunal on legal.fifa.com. Where a decision contains confidential information, a party may request within five days of the notification of the grounds of the decision that FIFA publish an anonymised or a redacted version (cf. article 17 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Procedural Rules).