Professional player contracts may come to an end by more than one route. One of those routes, termination by the club, is dealt with in Article 27 of the Regulations, entitled “The Club’s Right of Termination”; the cases in which a club may lawfully bring the contract to an end without facing any sanction are set out there one by one, each specific to a particular situation.
Where one of the grounds contained in Article 27 of the Regulations arises, the club may terminate the contract for just cause. Where some other event not enumerated in the text occurs, no automatic consequence follows; each dispute must be considered separately within its own circumstances. If, at the end of that examination, the view is taken that the concrete case constitutes just cause for termination, the club is accepted to have the power to terminate.
Grounds Giving the Club a Right of Just Termination
Pursuant to the said Article 27 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfers of Professional Football Players, where the player:
- Acts in serious breach of the obligations listed in Article 25 of the Regulations,
- Is affected by illness or a period of convalescence arising outside football activity that exceeds six months,
- Has been made subject to a final sanction of deprivation of rights or of a ban from matches of at least six months’ duration
the club may bring the contract with the player to an end for just cause.
One detail should be noted at this point: in some of the grounds that give the club a right of just termination, the consequence arises as though it were the player who had brought the contract to an end unjustly, and sanctions against the player come into question. A detailed examination of these exceptional cases, and of the penal and legal consequences a player faces in the event of unjust termination, is set out in the note entitled Unjust Termination of the Contract by a Professional Player.
Player Obligations Listed in Article 25 of the Regulations
The player obligations regulated in Article 25 of the Regulations, which may constitute a ground of termination for the club, may be summarised as follows. The player is obliged to pursue the formalities incumbent upon him so that he may take part in matches, to complete them and to obtain the necessary documents. Likewise, attendance at the courses, classes and conferences organised by the TFF and by his club is among these obligations. Thirdly, the player must notify both his club and the TFF of medical reports obtained on grounds of illness or injury within ten days following the date of the report. A serious breach of any of these heads may give rise to a ground of termination for the club.
The Approach in FIFA and CAS Practice
The FIFA and CAS rules do not adopt the method of enumerating grounds of just termination one by one. Instead, a general rule is laid down to the effect that, where one of the parties has just cause, it may terminate the contract without any consequence such as the payment of compensation or a sporting sanction. In that system, therefore, the scope of the rule is determined by way of interpretation, having regard to the requirements of the situation encountered in practice.
Procedure for Termination by the Club
The route to be followed in a termination effected by the club varies according to the just cause relied upon. Where certain grounds are present, the intention to terminate is declared by a notice served through a notary, and a copy of that notice is sent to the TFF for information. Where certain other grounds are concerned, by contrast, direct termination is not possible; the club must first serve a warning on the player and require the removal of the situation constituting the just cause for termination.
Cases Other Than Subparagraph “c” of Art. 27(1) of the Regulations
Where the player breaches the provisions contained in the first paragraph of Article 27 of the Regulations other than subparagraph “c”:
- If the club wishes to exercise the right of immediate termination, it must, within 30 days from the occurrence of the situation in question and/or from becoming aware of it, send the player a notice through a notary stating that the contract has been terminated for just cause. Once that period has elapsed, the power to terminate for just cause is extinguished.
- A copy of the notice must be transmitted to the TFF for information.
Serious Breach of Obligations or Non-Performance of Undertakings
Where the player is in serious breach of his obligations under Article 25 of the Regulations, or fails to perform the undertakings arising from the contract:
- A club wishing to bring the contract to an end must, by a notice served on the player through a notary, call for performance of the undertaking while allowing an appropriate period of grace of at least 7 days.
- If the player does not perform his undertakings despite the period of grace allowed, the club may terminate the contract only within 7 days from the expiry of that period and, again, by a notice sent through a notary.
- A copy of that notice must likewise be sent to the TFF for information.
It should be noted that the obligation to comply with the procedure does not apply to clubs alone; there are also rules with which players must comply for a termination to be regarded as justified. The just causes available to a player and the procedural steps he must follow are examined in detail in the note entitled Termination of a Professional Player Contract by the Player.
Independent Legal Assessment
In terminations by clubs, the dispute more often proceeds not on the existence of the ground but on whether the time limit has been missed. In particular, since the 30-day notification period, which is preclusive in character, begins to run at the moment the club learns of the event, a failure to record the date of knowledge in a document may later result in the termination being regarded as unjust. In the same way, terminating directly on a ground that first requires a warning to be served brings with it a problem of validity.
The second area of risk for the club is the correct characterisation of the just cause for termination. The Regulations allow the consequences of unjust termination to arise against the player on some grounds, while providing for no such consequence on others; that distinction directly affects whether the club may claim compensation.
The headings to be addressed at the outset of the process are as follows:
- Whether the ground relied upon falls within the scope of Art. 27 of the Regulations and, if it does not, reasoning the assessment of the concrete case
- Verifying against official records whether the periods of illness, convalescence or sanction exceed the six-month threshold
- Documenting the date of knowledge and setting the 30-day notification period against a calendar
- In cases requiring a prior warning, allowing a period of grace of not less than 7 days in due form
- Effecting the notice of termination through a notary and transmitting a copy to the TFF
- In files that may go before FIFA and the CAS, having regard from the outset to the general interpretation of just cause
Independent Legal provides advisory services to clubs and players on the termination of contracts, the structuring of the termination procedure and the conduct of disputes arising from termination.