Expensive lesson on international rules of the game

THE LEGAL BATTLE IS NOT OVER

On October 10, former HAGL player Martin Dzilah worked at the Gia Lai Provincial Police Investigation Agency (CSDT) from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., confirming that he had not received the amount of 20,000 USD (about 500 million VND) from HAGL Club as agreed. Previously, on March 21, Martin and HAGL signed a contract termination agreement. Due to the reason that he did not receive the money transferred to his bank account, Martin asked a representative company named Joseph Bannerman to file a lawsuit with FIFA. On June 28, the FIFA Dispute Room requested the relevant parties to provide evidence through the TMS (Transfer Matching System) system, a legal information portal on FIFA's website, with a deadline of July 18. On August 30, FIFA required HAGL to transfer 29,000 USD (about 700 million VND) plus bank interest within 45 days, otherwise they will face a transfer ban.

Martin Dzilah in front of the headquarters of the Gia Lai Provincial Police Department on October 10, 2024

HAGL Club said they did not update information about Martin Dzilah's lawsuit, only knowing when FIFA issued the verdict on August 30 and notified VFF. The mountain town team then sent an email explaining to VFF and FIFA, with evidence of the words "I received 20,000 USD" (translated as "I have received 20,000 USD") and the signature believed to be Martin Dzilah's in the liquidation minutes. But according to Thanh Nien's investigation, FIFA refused to resolve the case on the grounds that it was past the prescribed deadline. On October 7, the Investigation Police Agency of Gia Lai Province (CSDT) sent a summons, requesting player Martin Dzilah to appear at the CSDT agency to clarify some contents related to the complaint of LPBank HAGL Sports Joint Stock Company (abbreviated as HAGL Club). As mentioned above, working with the investigation agency, Martin continued to affirm that he had not received the amount of 20,000 USD from HAGL.

HAGL MISSED THE "GOLDEN" TIME

Thanh Nien Newspaper consulted two legal consulting units with experience in handling international transfer disputes, and both agreed that HAGL is at a disadvantage because they missed the "golden" time. FIFA, through its member football federations, including VFF, notified all clubs to handle all transfer issues, disputes, lawsuits, etc. on TMS. When a dispute occurs, FIFA will only update on TMS to the plaintiff and defendant. VFF will only receive a notification from FIFA when there is a final decision for VFF to know. This requires clubs to have their own people check TMS updates to comply with the regulations if they do not want to suffer losses, instead of waiting for emails like before.

A lawyer shared: "HAGL ignored the time FIFA allowed to explain and provide evidence to TMS. On the system, FIFA only saw Martin Dzilah providing evidence while HAGL did nothing. When FIFA made the decision, they gave a 10-day deadline to file a lawsuit to CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport). Unfortunately, HAGL also missed that opportunity. Now HAGL wants to appeal to CAS but it is not resolved because it is against the regulations. Internationally, people do not resolve exceptions, so even if VFF wants to send an email to explain, it is useless. Remember that FIFA has 209 member federations, a lot of them, so everyone must follow the general regulations."

A notable point is that HAGL Club confirmed that it sent cash of 20,000 USD to Martin Dzilah, instead of through the bank as FIFA practice. In the ruling, FIFA required HAGL Club to transfer money into Martin Dzilah's bank account of 29,000 USD, update payment evidence themselves and have the player confirm it. If it fails to do so or is overdue, HAGL Club will face a transfer ban for 1.5 seasons (3 transfer periods). If HAGL Club continues to fail to do so, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee will intervene. The mountain town team will then face the risk of being dissolved and banned from operating.

Obviously, this is a valuable lesson for Vietnamese football in learning and following international rules. Before the case of HAGL, Vietnamese football holds the record: 100% (both VFF and clubs) lost lawsuits against foreign players and coaches.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hagl-bi-cuu-ngoai-binh-kien-len-fifa-bai-hoc-dat-gia-ve-luat-choi-quoc-te-185241010225218114.htm