One of the most popular and influential phenomena in today’s society is football. In the early years of the emergence of football, this sport did not have a special structure and rules, but had a fun feature and filled people’s free time. Over time, this arena, like many other arenas in the modern world, went through its evolutionary process and had a definite structure; In such a way that a clear law was defined for all the issues and Football lawsuits that this sport might face.
Humans, who are social beings, are often different in their level of awareness, talents, and all kinds of moral, cultural, and family characteristics, and on the other hand, they do not have the same motivations, desires, and needs. Therefore, it seems inevitable that there will be a difference between them. One of the disputes that is increasing significantly in today’s world is sports disputes, including football disputes.
During many years, following the organization and legalization of football, many efforts were made to define mechanisms for football disputes. In this regard, in the first place, all kinds of football disputes were classified, and after that, the appropriate legal way and method to solve those disputes was designed and compiled.
How many categories are Football lawsuits divided into?
Football lawsuits, are very diverse; In such a way that different classifications of them can be presented. One of these classifications is the division of football disputes into two types of contractual and non-contractual disputes. Every complaint raised in the field of football is somehow placed under one of these two types of disputes. In the following, we mention some examples of the most important claims that are raised under the above headings.
Contract disputes in the field of football:
The basis of many relationships is the contract. The most important contracts related to football include the contracts of athletes, coaches, medical staff, employees, transfer intermediaries, sports venues, marketing and sponsorship institutions, as well as the contract of a club with other clubs. Non-fulfillment of obligations in any of these contracts can be the basis of a complaint in one of the competent authorities. Contracts include financial and non-financial obligations.
The most important part of contracts, which has a high number of complaints, is financial obligations. You must have heard by now that players or coaches in the world of football filed a complaint in a football authority due to late payment or non-payment of their claims and demanded a judgment against the respective clubs. For example, coaches or foreign players working in the Iranian league, such as Bronco, Cal Duron, Shaffer, Budimir, Bodrov, etc., have been trying to receive their demands (salaries and bonuses) through filing complaints in international authorities. have done Such complaints in domestic authorities and by Iranian players or coaches are also precedents.
It has also been seen that many sports venues refused to provide services to the other party of the contract due to non-fulfillment of financial obligations and may have tried to terminate the contract or filed complaints with competent authorities. Also, the number of complaints caused by failure to fulfill the financial obligations of the broker or sponsor has been increasing in recent years. Esteghlal or Persepolis clubs, which manage most of their current expenses through brokerage or sponsorship contracts, have the largest share in filing such complaints.
The filing of a complaint by one club against another club due to non-fulfillment of financial obligations can be seen in football lawsuits related to the payment of growth rights or how to divide them, or the payment of installments related to the issuance of a player’s consent. For example, the condemnation of Esteghlal Club to pay the amount of 500 million Rials for Mehdi Qaidi’s growth rights to Tawheed Bushehr Club is one of the examples of cases in this area.
Another part of the contracts is related to non-financial obligations. For example, in the contract between the players and the clubs, there are mutual obligations, if they are not fulfilled, there will be a space for disputes and lawsuits. Generally, in their contracts with players, clubs undertake to provide appropriate conditions for training and participation in competitions, along with paying wages and bonuses (this section is included under financial obligations), and take the necessary measures. To enter the player’s name in the team list, register the player in the league organization. Also, in the contract with foreign players, the clubs undertake to receive their work permits from the relevant organizations as soon as possible so that there is no problem regarding the residence of foreign players in the respective country.
Therefore, if a player is not registered in the league organization and is not included in the team list during the specified time frame of the transfer season, for any reason, such as a club being excluded from the transfer window, etc., the player remains without a team. remains, he has the right to sue the relevant club while terminating his contract and seek compensation.
On the other hand, players also have obligations towards their club, the violation of these obligations will be the source of disputes and the start of lawsuits in the field of football. For example, the players undertake to be present in training and matches and do not make unexcused absences, to follow the club’s orders, for example, to implement team tactics and plans according to the head coach’s wishes, to respect the club and to have behavior, if there are obligations considered in the contract, they should act on it; For example, participate in the club’s sponsored programs, refrain from signing a contract with a personal sponsor if the club prohibits it, and… if these obligations are not met by the player, the club will have rights such as the right to terminate or impose a disciplinary fine. will be In case of disagreement between the clubs or the player about whether any of these obligations were properly observed or violated, specific authorities will be competent to deal with them.
The most frequent subject of dispute in the field of contracts is the category of contract termination. As soon as one of the parties to the contract cancels and terminates the contract for any reason, the other party to the contract will file a complaint with the competent institutions to issue a ruling on the justification or non-justification of the termination. Termination of the contract is possible both due to the violation of financial obligations and due to the violation of non-financial obligations.
Non-contractual disputes in the field of football:
Some disputes are not necessarily affected by contracts between natural or legal persons related to football; Rather, it is caused by the violation of football laws such as the constitution, regulations, bylaws and instructions of the federation, the Asian Football Confederation, FIFA and its subsidiaries, doing actions against the spirit of sports and football or doing actions that harm the integrity and credibility of football. they do The variety of examples in this part of disputes is very large, and according to those handling authorities and the ways of solving these disputes also differ. In the following, examples of these types of disputes were mentioned.
One of the most important claims and disputes raised in this section is violence and violent fouls during the game or outside of the game. Football is one of the most popular and watched sports. It should be noted that this sport, as much as it brings about the vitality of the society as well as the mental and physical health of the athletes, is the place of occurrence of all kinds of dangers and collisions; In such a way that throughout history we have seen collisions that have resulted in injury, disability, or even the death of an athlete.
Sports violence is a behavior that is against the rules, regulations and nature of sports and causes injury. However, not all violent behaviors can be considered the same. Some behaviors, despite being violent, are considered permissible in sports. In this way, a distinction should be made between the types of violent behavior of football players. Generally, violent behavior can be divided into three types of violence: violent physical encounters, borderline or intermediate violence, and criminal violence:
- Harsh physical contact here is the same bold and fearless behavior. Today, one of the attractive factors of football is this type of behavior and the so-called aggressive game. In fact, these behaviors are a set of high-powered, intense and permitted encounters (within the framework of football regulations) that are done without the intention of hurting or harming another. These behaviors are not crimes, nor are they considered punishments even in the disciplinary regulations of football federations. Sometimes, the referee may be satisfied with a simple warning after observing such behavior during the match. For example, you can see this type of collision in the case where the players are in an aerial battle to repel the ball, so to speak.
- According to the testimony of many experts, border and inter-border violence is also considered as a part of the essence of football. The tackles that the player makes to take possession of the ball and then hit the opponent’s player, jumping on the opponent, raising the leg too much to take possession of the ball, etc. are all of this type of violence. According to the disciplinary regulations, if the referee detects carelessness or excessive use of force in such scenes, he will declare a technical foul or give the wrong player a red card.
- The third type of violent behavior that can be the source of disputes and is the subject of our discussion is criminal violence, which is a set of behavioral abnormalities, deviations and moral deviations in which official sports rules or accepted norms of athletes are violated. to be Very rough tackling, kicking, intentional back stomping, deliberate and obvious elbowing are all of this type. Violent behaviors in this type are either instantaneous or inorganic and pure. In the first case, a person commits such mistakes during the game due to high sensitivity, unsuccessful individual or team performance, the behavior of the other party, etc. If the person does not lead to murder, mutilation, or other serious injuries, the lawsuit will be pursued in the same football authorities and will not be raised in the general judicial authorities. The result of such encounters is a series of suspensions and financial fines in addition to a red card during the game.
Pure violent behavior is not instantaneous but will continue after the whistle has been blown or the end of the game. Here, not only football rules are violated; Rather, even the non-football norms of the society are also violated, in such a case, a complaint can be filed for such violent behavior both in public authorities and in football authorities, and the wrongdoer faces various punishments and fines. did An example of this physical conflict can be seen in the 95th Shahrvard between Esteghlal and Persepolis, where the wrongdoers were fined and banned.
The subject of another part of Football lawsuits is civil liability lawsuits. Sport is inseparable from the accident, and in case of an accident, there is a possibility of claiming damages by all the subjects of sports rights. This causes all kinds of civil liability lawsuits against the perpetrators of losses. It should be emphasized that sports, especially professional sports, are not just fun; On the other hand, when an accident occurs, if the elements of responsibility (incurrence of loss, commission of a harmful act, causal relationship between the act of the perpetrator and the damage caused) are provided, civil liability is created and the person is required to compensate the damage.
In general, we are faced with two general rules in various sports fields. The first law is unique to that sport and explains the rules and regulations of the game. These rules are compiled by the highest international organizations related to that sport.
The second law refers to ensuring the safety of the subjects of that sport (especially the athletes) during the sports competition. In the world of sports law and civil liability, the second law is considered more. It should be mentioned that in order to create responsibility, the duties of each person must be defined first, so that in case of negligence and fault in performing the duties, responsibility will be created. It should also be noted that civil responsibility in sports is not limited to the relationship between athletes and the damage they cause during competition and fighting; Rather, most of it is caused by the relationship between athletes and coaches or by the negligent performance of people working in sports organizations and complexes. For example, if a professional trainer, who, based on his job duties, must provide appropriate training programs to his students, is negligent and causes bad and long-term injuries to his student as a result of providing unprofessional training, he is responsible and in case of filing a complaint On the part of the victim, he is sentenced to compensation.
Or in another place, if the officials of a sports complex do not make the spectators’ place in a standard way and an accident occurs during the match, for example, a spectator falls and gets injured due to an improper place, the managers of that sports complex will be responsible and must be compensated. damage The death of a six-year-old child (Emad Safi Yari) due to electrocution (collision with the scaffolding of Azadi Stadium) in the match between Persepolis and Sanat Naft in 2018 is an example of the same negligence in performing duties. Following this incident, the contractor company that was responsible for the reconstruction of Azadi Stadium area was found responsible.
Another example of negligence can be seen in the negligence of the officials of organizing the final of the 2017 National Cup, which caused the blindness of an Esteghlal fan (Ismail Behdarvand). Due to the lack of proper distance between the stands of the fans of the two teams, an object was thrown from the stands of the rival team and caused eye damage to this fan. The negligence of the tournament officials was sued by this fan.
Another behavior complained about in this section is forgery or using a fake document. If a player, club, or any person and football institution, in order to benefit from a set of privileges or to be exempted from a series of requirements, attempts to forge a document or document or uses a fake document in some way, in addition to that according to the penal law Islami will be tried in criminal courts, due to his connection with football, he will also be questioned and tried in football judicial institutions. There are many examples of this type of complaints in the world of football. Perhaps the last example of this can be seen in the case of the Gabonese player of the Gol Gohar club, Sirjan, who, with the complaint of three Premier League clubs, the competent judicial body in the Football Federation (based on the opinion of the FATA police, who proved the use of a fake email by the Gol Gohar club) The club faced restrictions.
On the other hand, behaviors such as insults, slander, spreading lies are also the subject of many complaints in the football world. Anyone who behaves inside or outside the field in any way that is a clear example of insult, defamation, defamation, and spreading lies, will be subject to a complaint and will be disqualified. This exclusion is apart from the punishment that the public courts of justice consider for wrongdoing following the plaintiff’s complaint.
International football institutions are very sensitive to racist insults; In such a way that even if a person does not intend to insult racially, but such an insult is taken from his behavior, they apply disciplinary restrictions and if the victim of the insult complains, they immediately take action on his complaint. An example of the conviction of a person due to racist insults can be seen in the six-month deprivation of Issa al-Kathir. The celebration after this player’s goal in the Asian Champions League was considered an example of racist insult by the Asian Football Confederation and a disciplinary ban was decided for this player.
Collusion is one of the other cases that are the subject of many Football lawsuits and disputes. In fact, collusion includes all deliberate actions that are carried out in order to manipulate the outcome of the game. These actions are planned in advance and done secretly. These actions can be done through the agreement of two players, player and coach, two clubs, player and intermediary, player and club, etc. Filing such a complaint and proving it in competent courts will result in punishment and disqualifications for those involved in collusion.
Another behavior that is closely related to collusion and sometimes occurs together with it is betting. The expansion of the activities of betting sites and the lack of legal supervision over them has caused many activists and members of the football community to enter this arena and through betting, they determine their desired results from the matches and thus make huge profits. And they got a lot. In case of filing a complaint of collusion and proving it, heavy deprivations will await the wrongdoers. Examples of convictions due to collusion and betting violations can be seen in the verdict related to the second division league and the matches related to the teams of Sardar Bukan, Shahid Qandi Yazd, Shahin Bandar Ameri, Mahshahr Municipality and Pas Hamadan. The relevant judicial body in the Iranian Football Federation condemned and banned the above clubs and a number of their players and officials due to collusion and betting.
Any of the persons who have a role in the federations or its sub-committees or are in some way connected with such institutions, do not have the right to abuse their position and offer to receive a bribe or accept the offer of a bribe that is given to them. to accept Any abuse of the position is prohibited. If a complaint with this issue is raised and proven, the wrongdoers, in addition to the punishment prescribed in the public courts, are also required to bear the disciplinary punishment of the Football Federation. One example of votes related to abuse of position in football lawsuits is the case of the arrest and conviction of 7 FIFA members on charges of financial abuse and accepting bribes (100 million dollars) in 2015.
Another behavior that contradicts the principle of fair competition and harms the health of competitions is the issue of doping. Doping is actually the consumption of a prohibited substance or the use of a prohibited method by a healthy person with the aim of increasing sports efficiency and performance. If legal and real persons claim that a player has done doping and this claim is proven by the National Anti-Doping Headquarters (NADO), the player will be severely suspended. One example of player disqualification votes due to doping can be seen in the case of Habib Gerdani, who was disqualified for four years (from February 26, 2015 to February 25, 2019) due to the consumption of the prohibited substance mentioned above.
The filing of any of the aforementioned lawsuits in competent authorities, or defending oneself against such accusations, has specific legal and legal complications and subtleties, and only those who are proficient in the field of sports law, especially football law, can succeed. They have lawsuits in the field of football. Dadista Law Firm proudly announces that by employing expert, experienced and familiar forces in the field of football law, we provide all football litigation consultations to our valued customers, especially players, clubs, coaches, transfer intermediaries and Anyone who is active and a member in the field of football presents.