Confidence from the Liptov club

(published in the Slovak daily Sport)

More than a decade ago, FIFA introduced a system of training compensation for transfers to ensure clubs are rewarded for developing players under the age of 21. The system was quickly respected worldwide and became part of football's agreement with the European Commission after the changes sparked by the Bosman ruling. The European Court of Justice has also recognized it.

A part of my work involves helping not only with player transfers but also assisting clubs in sports law matters, including training compensation. Without revealing too much of the know-how: some cases are obvious, and clubs are aware of them. Others are harder to uncover, and many clubs, not just Slovak ones, but across Europe, don’t even realize they have a claim. That was exactly the case with Michal Janec, who was developed by MFK Tatran Liptovský Mikuláš.

After I pointed out the case and arranged legal representation, the club from Liptov succeeded in March 2014 at the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber in a dispute with Slovan Liberec. The ruling ordered the Czech club to pay a five-figure euro amount in compensation. Last Thursday, the clubs reached an out-of-court settlement, and the appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was withdrawn.

The Slovak second-division club received an unexpected financial boost and for me, an even better feeling than when, two months ago, I helped mediate a settlement over compensation for FC Parma from second-division Blackburn Rovers. The Italians were pleased and even sent a thank-you email. The total sum for Parma was much higher, but the money from Liberec stays in Slovakia: for the boys from Liptov. In the case of Liptovský Mikuláš, the key was convincing club leadership not to hesitate and to go ahead with the dispute. Executive director Martin Pohlod was on board from the start. He pulled it off. And he helped the club’s youth teams in the process.

Not long ago, danger for Slovak football came twice from across the Morava River: clubs signed young players after their contracts ended (Olomouc with Karaš from Košice, Brno with Slančík from Banská Bystrica) and then acted as if the player wasn’t receiving professional pay. The reasoning: compensation isn’t paid for true amateurs. But these cases clearly reeked of legal evasion. Fake contracts with sponsors for unrelated activities when it’s clear the player is being paid for football are exactly the kind of schemes FIFA dismisses outright.

The national team showed its confidence during its qualification campaign, and the Slovak Football Association (SFZ) did too with a complaint against a Scottish referee and a personal letter to Michel Platini. But when it comes to the poaching of young players, it’s now time for the Union of League Clubs to step up. What must follow is for the confidence from Liptov to spread to all Slovak clubs so they firmly and fearlessly claim training compensation whenever it's rightfully theirs. There’s no need to worry about who will say what... Because really - who and what?