Tema youth win case at CAS (IV). Full details of the ruling
Court for Arbitration in Sports (CAS) 2015/A/4328 Tema Youth Football Club v Ghana Football Association
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Court of Arbitration for Sport
40. On I February 2016, Tema wrote to the CAS Court Office with a 'request for an order to produce documentary evidence', requesting the Panel to order the GFA to produce evidence of, inter alia, biographical data evidence of the players involved in this dispute
and copies of match reports.
41. On 3 February 2016, pursuant to Atiicle R54 of the CAS Code and on behalf of the President of the CAS Appeals Arbitration Division, the CAS Court Office infmmed the Parties that the Panel appointed to this case was constituted as follows:
President: Mr Mark A. Hovell, Solicitor in Manchester, United Kingdom.
Arbitrators: Dr Marco Balmelli, Attorney-at-Law in Basel, Switzerland. Mr Bernhard Welten, Attorney-at-Law in Bem, Switzerland.
42. On 12 February 2016, given the disagreement between the parties regarding the need for a hearing, the CAS Comi Office wrote to the parties on behalf of the Panel requesting the
Tribunal Arbitral du Sport CAS 2015/A/4328 Tema Youth Football Club v Ghana Football Association
Court of Arbitration for Sport
Parties to file a second round of written submissions by 19 February 2016, limited to the following issues:
" Provide a PDF copy of the GFA regulations and statutes.
Guide the panel how one club can complain to the GFA about another fielding an ineligible player, in accordance with the GFA regulations and statutes.
How the GFA then disciplines that club and the position of the complainant in those proceedings.
Hot!' either club can appeal?
Whether either club can seek a review of any appealed decision.
What the conditions for such a review are."
43. On 13 February 2016, Tema submitted its second round of written submissions.
44. On 15 February 2016, the GFA wrote to the CAS Court Office requesting that a hearing is now held in this matter instead of its earlier preference that the Panel render an award based solely on the Parties' written submissions.
45. On 23 February 2016, the CAS Comi Office wrote to the Pmiies granting an ultimate deadline of29 February 2016 for the GFA to file its second round of written submissions.
46. On 29 February 2016, the GFA submitted its second round of written submissions.
47. On 17 March 2016, the CAS Court office informed the Parties that the Panel had decided to hold a hearing in this matter and requested the Parties to confirm their availability.
48. On 23 March 2016, Tema wrote to the CAS Court Office reiterating their request to be heard via telephone at the hearing.
49. On 7 April2016, Tema filed a signed Order of Procedure with the CAS Court Office.
50. On 14 April2016, the GFA filed a signed Order of Procedure with the CAS Court Office and requested to be heard at the hearing via Skype.
IV. THE HEARING
51. On 31 March 2016, the CAS Comi Office wrote to the Parties confirming that a hearing would take place on 28 April 2016.
52. A hearing was held on 28 April2016 at the CAS premises in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Pmiies did not raise any objection as to the composition of the Panel. The Panel were all present and was assisted by Mr Antonio de Quesada, CAS Counsel. The following persons attended the hearing:
I. Tema: Mr E. Selasi Adika, external counsel; Mr Wilfred
Tribunal Arbitral clu Sport CAS 2015/A/4328 Tema Youth Football Club v Ghana Football Association
Court of Arbitration for Sport
11.
The GFA: Kweku Osei, President and Owner; Mr Francis
Adu Essah and Mr Ahmed Gambo, witnesses.
Mr Kweku Eyiah, Legal Counsel and Mr Isaac
Addo, Acting General Secretary.
53. All the Party representatives, counsels and the witnesses participated in the hearing via Skype. The Party representatives and the witnesses were invited by the President of the Panel to tell the truth subject to the sanctions of perjury. The Parties and the Panel had the opportunity to examine and cross-examine the Party representatives and the witnesses. The Parties then were given the opportunity to present their cases, to make their submissions and arguments and to answer questions posed by the Panel. The hearing was then closed and the Panel reserved its detailed decision to this written Award.
54. Upon closing the hearing, the Parties expressly stated that they had no objections in relation to their respective rights to be heard and that they had been treated equally in these arbitration proceedings. The Panel has carefully taken into account in its subsequent deliberation all the evidence and the arguments presented by the Parties, both in their written submissions and at the hearing, even if they have not been summarised in the present Award.
V. SUBMISSIONS OF THE PARTIES
55. The following summary of the Parties' postttons is illustrative only and does not necessarily comprise each and every contention put forward by the Parties. The Panel, however, has carefully considered all the submissions made by the Parties, even if no explicit reference is made in what immediately follows.
A. Tema's Submissions
In summaty, Tema submitted the following in support of its Appeal:
56. Tema submitted that both the GFA DC and the GFA AC had erred by allowing the outcome of the Match to stand. There were clear precedents such as BA United FC v. Aduana Stars FC, BA United FC v. Berlin BC, BA United FC v. Bechem United FC and King Solomon FC v. Soccer Leamers FC that demonstrated that the GFA sanctioned some of its clubs that played matches with ineligible or unqualified players by deducting points from those clubs.
57. Articles 26 and 29 of the GFA's Regulations state as follows:
"Article 26: Registration -General Guidelines
1. (a) The National Secretariat shall keep registers and data bases in which the names and birth dates and other particulars of all players for each club shall be recorded.
(b) A player must be registered with a club as either a Professional or an Amateur in accordance with the provision of Article 2 of the FJFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players. Only registered players are eligible to participate in organised
Tribunal Arbitral du Sport CAS 2015/A/4328 Tema Youth Football Club v Ghana Football Association
Court of Arbitration for Sport
football. By the act of registering, a player agrees to abide by the Statutes and
Regulations of FIFA, CAF and the GFA.
(c) All clubs shall ensure that their total number of registered players does not exceed a number to be determined by the GFA in consultation with the clubsfi•om time to time.
(d) Each Regional Association shall determine the number of players to be registered by the clubs for its competitions.
(e) In registering players, .fit!! names (Surnames and Other name.1) shall be given. Incomplete or nicknames shall not be accepted. Afier registration the association shall be notified of any changes, and in any event, not later than fourteen (14) days from the date of the change.
2. (a) Each club shall be given a sofiware by the IT Department of the GFA to generate electronic registration form for each player for the Premier, Division One, Division Two League Clubs, Women League Clubs and Juvenile League Clubs. The form shall bear the signatures of the player, club official, the Medical Officer who examined the player, and shall be affirmed with
six month old).
(b) Clubs registering players shall pay processing fees as determined by the GFA.
(c) The application for registration of a Professional must be submitted together with a copy of the player's contract. It shall be at the discretion ofthe relevant decision-making body to take account of any contractual amendments or additional agreements that have not been duly submitted to it.
3. (a) If a player who has not been registered •with the Association appears for a club in any official match, that player will be considered as having played illegitimately. Without prejudice to any measure required to rectify the sporting consequences of such an appearance, sanctions may also be imposed on the player and I or the club. The right to impose such sanctions lies in principle with the Association or the organizer of the competition concerned.
(b) A player shall only be registered for one club at a time.
