ISL_Module 8

MODULE 8

LABOUR AND CONTRACTUAL ISSUES IN SPORTS

INTRODUCTION

Sports law is based on how the law in general interacts with sports activity. Different from
theoretical law, it is pure law. Sports law is not only an applied law in the field of sports but also
a blend of laws in number of jurisdictions1.

In general, legislation that have developed under the labor laws should be applicable to all types
of employees, including athletes. There is no statutory basis under the National Labor Relations
Act ("NLRA")' to treat professional athletes any different than any other type of employee2. If
we can see IPL, then there are so many rule and regulation prescribed by the BCCI for the
betterment of the players living condition and also make sure that player get sufficient service
from the respective franchises owner. It is mandatory for every owner to spend minimum limit
on the condition of the labour. Players and owners have to negotiate mandatory issues relating to
hours, wages and working condition. Employment contracts in sport may be entered into directly
between a club and player, although it will often be an agent who will conduct the negotiation of
contract terms on the player's behalf. Major examples include footballers' contracts negotiated by
the Professional Footballers' Association. Such standard contracts will be supplemented by
confidential personal terms covering issues such as salaries, performance bonuses, sponsorship
deals and image rights. Express terms in a player's standard contract deal with issues such as
fitness, exclusivity and discipline. Of particular importance are clauses which require players to
obey both the rules of the club and relevant sporting bodies such as the Premier and Football
Leagues and the England and Wales Cricket Board. In the case of any conflict between a club's
rules and those of a governing body it is specified that the rules of the latter prevail.

1 S.S Rana, < https://www.ssrana.in/Intellectual%20Property/Sports%20Law/Sports-Law-in-India.aspx> Accessed
on 16 February 2019
2 Robert D. Manfred, Jr,
<https://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1498&context=hlelj> Accessed on 15
February 2019.

There are at least three different sources of disciplinary action for professional athletes because
there are different interests at work. It should be recognized that the club has a set of interests,
the Commissioner has a set of interests, and until recently, the league had a distinct set of
interests.

Drug use the problem of performance enhancing drugs is a major problem in the sports sector.
Drugs testing list of banned drugs, penalties, privacy issues and right to appeal are to be clearly
stated by the nodal agency concerned. As well as drug taking, acts of violence by footballers
have generated disciplinary issues that could justify a player’s dismissal on the grounds of breach
of contract. In fact, however, clubs have generally shown what could be regarded as considerable
leniency towards such acts. This is demonstrated by the decisions of Chelsea FC and Manchester
United FC not to impose club penalties on Dennis Wise and Eric Cantona after their respective
convictions for assault3. Similarly, the convictions of Jonathan Woodgate and Lee Bower for acts
of violence outside a Leeds night-club did not result in negative consequences for either player’s
career. In the case of Woodgate it did not affect his selection for the national team, and this
situation was effectively replicated in October 2010 with respect to the Newcastle player, Andy
Carroll. Joey Barton is an example of another player with a career chequered by acts of violence
on, off and away from the field of play. His clubs seemed remarkably patient with him though he
was suspended by Manchester City, in 2007, after a series of incidents which culminated in
Barton assaulting a teammate, Ousmane Dabo, during training. A potential transfer from Queens
Park Rangers to West Ham in 2015 was also called off following a protest by fans who did not
want Barton at their club.

DIFFERENT RELATION IN CONTRACT

Apart from the relationship existing in sports between the event organizer, clubs and the players,
the players and the clubs are also subjected to other rules of the governing bodies with who they
are not in any direct relationship. These relationship need to be analyzed through various test
which point out- whether a player is an employee or an agent or an individual contractor and
with whom such a relationship exists. It is very important to determine whether a player is an

3 CAS 2008/A/1644, Adrian Mutu v/ Chelsea Football Club Limited

employee, an agent or an individual contractor because the obligations, duties and termination,
dismissal depend on the kind of relationship that exists.4

THE TESTS

A. Contract of service and contract for service

There is a continuous debate about a contract for service and a contract of services. While the
major difference in that phrase is a mere exchange of words of, “of” and “for”, there is a huge
difference in the meaning. A contract of service is an agreement (whether orally or in writing)
binding on both parties who are referred to as “employer” and “employee”. In a contract of
service the employer normally enjoys the power of control over the work of the servant and the
servant is bound to obey the orders/instructions of the master. However, it is depends upon the
terms of the contract to determine the type of contract. In contrast, a contract for services, an
independent contractor, on the other hand, undertakes to produce the required result, but in the
actual execution of the job to produce the result, he is not under the order or control of the person
for whom he is doing that duty. He is free to use his discretion. However, sometimes it is very
difficult to differentiate between a contract of service and a contract for services “it is often easy
to recognize a contract of service when you see it, but difficult to say wherein the difference
lies”. The distinction between a “contract of service” and a “contract for services” is crucial in
determining an individual’s legal position5. Savita Garg (Smt) v. Director, National Heart
Institute6. In this case court tried to make a distinction between “contract for service” and
“contract of service”. He submitted that those persons who are on contract for service are
different from those per...contract of service. He submitted that in a contract for service there is
a contract whereby one party undertakes to render service e.g. professional or technical service,
to or as the permanent staff of the hospital is concerned, there is a contract of service and for
negligence thereof the hospital can be made liable and for that they need not be impleaded

4 Law and sports in India, Mukul & singhania, 2nd edition, Lexis nexis,p288
5 <https://mahwengkwai.com/2018/11/28/the-difference-between-contract-of-service-and-contract-for-services-part-
1/> Accessed on 22nd February 2019
6 Savita Garg (Smt) v. Director, National Heart Institute, 2004 SCC 8 56

B. Master servant or Principle agent Relationship

If one were to describe all persons whom one employs to do work for oneself as an agent, then
such agent will be either a servant or an independent contractor. Which the agent will be is often
a very difficult question to answer. Clearly, where the agent is more-or-less continuously
employed by one employer, possesses no professional or special technical skills and is subject to
the minute control of the employer, he is a servant of the employer. On the other hand, where the
person is employed to do only one job, possesses special skills, does work for other employers,
and is subject to no control by the employer as to the manner of doing the work, that person
cannot be said to be a servant. Even where the employment is not continuous, the agent
employed may be a servant7.

So according to these test the relationship between them get decided and also the nature of
contract, whether the contract is independent or something else.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Since the formation of the first players' union, both the unions and management have used a
variety of strategies when dealing with one another. Labor stoppages have been used by both
sides and the consequences of those approaches have been equally varied. The 1994 baseball
strike that cancelled the World Series, the shortened National Basketball Association (NBA)
season due to lock-out, and the entire 2004-2005 National Hockey League (NHL) season that
was cancelled due to a lock-out are three of the more extreme and public examples of labor
disputes in professional sports. Patterns of behavior have appeared in labor relations in
professional sports. The most known and extensive were the labor stoppages that occurred in
Major League Baseball (MLB) after the expiration of every collective bargaining agreement
(CBA) prior to 2002. Why labor stoppages and other issues repeatedly occur are questions that

7 https://www.albertalawreview.com/index.php/ALR/article/viewFile/563/556

have no definitive answer, or, perhaps, just no solution. However, whether these stoppages have
been effective is one that may be answerable.8

Formation of Union

A union is a trade organization that represent employee in a particular work site, with its primary
responsibility to negotiate and administer a collective bargaining agreement for its employee. A
collective bargaining agreement is a contract between an employer and the union that sets
minimum standards in area such as wages, benefits, health, safety, etc. and usually contains
dispute resolution mechanism, referred to as a grievance procedure.9

Earlier the concept of player forming union was a little unusual; however, formation of unions in
sports is now relatively well-known. Unions in professional sports protect the interest of the
athletes in their interactions and relation with management and the governing bodies.

In most of the cases, labor unions are came out of from hole only when unfair working
conditions and inadequate wages done by the employer. Given today's world, millionaire
athletes, it's often forgotten that the pioneers of America's favorite sports leagues - iconic
superstars such as Oscar Robertson, Johnny Unitas and Gordie Howe - were victims of employer
or manager of their respective club, on the matter of harsh expectations and unbalanced wages.
Those athletes who does not belong to any union were treated as pieces of property that had no
rights to pensions, healthcare benefits or even lunch money for road games.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT

A collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a written legal contract between an employer and
organized labor. The CBA is the result of an extensive negotiation process between those two
parties regarding wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment. There are three
different categories that are part of a CBA: Mandatory, Voluntary or Permissive and Illegal
subjects. Mandatory subjects are those topics required by law and the National Labor Relations

8 Genevieve F.E. Birren
https://via.library.depaul.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1001&co
ntext=jslcp Accessed on 16 February 2019
9 Glenn m wong, essential of sports law, 4th edition, praeger publication 2010, p 515.

Board (NLRB). Those subjects include items like wages, overtime, bonuses, grievance
procedures, safety and work practices, and seniority, as well as procedures for discharge, layoff,
recall, or discipline. Voluntary or Permissive subjects may be negotiated, but are not mandatory
like employee rights. Illegal subjects are unlawful, such as closed shops (when an employer will
hire only members from a union).

It is important to note that once a CBA is reached, both the employer and the organized labor
unit will be required to abide by that agreement. Therefore, an employer should retain legal
counsel before participating in the collective bargaining process10.

WHETHER SPORTSPERSONS CAN FORM TRADE UNION IN INDIA?

The right to form a union is guaranteed under article 19(1)(c) of the Constitution of India , but
this is fundamental right enforceable against the state, and not a private employer or club.

Section 2(h) in the Trade Unions Act, 1926

“Trade Union” means any combination, whether temporary or permanent, formed primarily for
the purpose of regulating the relations between workmen or labour or sportsperson and
employers or between employee and employers, or for imposing restrictive conditions on the
conduct of any trade or business, and includes any federation of two or more Trade Unions11.

Under section 4 of the trade union act, a trade union could apply for and obtain registration
thereof. That provision states:

Any seven or more members of a Trade Union may, by subscribing their names to the rules of
the Trade Union and by otherwise complying with the provisions of this Act with respect to
registration, apply for registration of the Trade Union under this Act12.

In the case of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam vs. Commissioner of Labour, SC held that, it
would be apparent from this definition that any group of employees which comes together

10 Society Human resource management, < https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/hr-
qa/pages/collectivebargainingagreement.aspx> Accessed on 23rd February 2019
11 Trade union act 1926, s 2(h)
12 Trade union act 1926, s 4

primarily for the purpose of regulating the relation between them and their employer or between
them, may be registered as a trade union under this act’. Thus, sportsperson can definitely come
together under a single umbrella to assert their rights between them by virtue of the definition
provided under the trade union act. The Lodha Committee came up with following
recommendations which is helpful for sports in India.13:

a) BCCI office bearer can work for not more than two continuous terms: This recommendation is
accompanied by fixing the retirement age at 70, in order to avoid the management of the sport by
elderly who could barely speak, which indeed is the current trend. Also those administrators who
are declared as insolvent, or of unsound mind or charged with criminal charges, or who hold any
office or post in a sports or athletic association or federation apart from cricket are to be
eliminated.

b) President of the BCCI cannot hold his post for more than two years.

c) Proposition of one vote per state and no proxy voting: This recommendation would take away
the monopoly of the suppressing states like Maharashtra, which currently exercises multiple
votes owing to multiple associations.

d) Separate governing body for IPL with certain level of sovereignty to be made available to IPL
as a governing body. The committee has also suggested to form a players association and has
called for a “steering committee”. The intention behind the same is to enforce grass root level
change in the structure of BCCI.

e) Legalizations of betting: The panel has proposed to legalize betting. It has also recommended
that BCCI Officials shall disclose their assets to the boards, so that they could be certain about
the non-involvement of BCCI officials in betting

ISSUES RELATED TO PLAYERS CONTRACTS AND LABOUR LAWS.

There are section in the player’s contract such as the player agree to play to the best of his skill in
matches in which he is selected to play for the country or club and to attend at any reasonable

13 Supreme Court, Report of Supreme Court Committee on Reforms in Cricket [Volume 1], available at:
http://www.sportstarlive.com/multimedia/archive/02682/lodha_full_2682954a.pdf, (Last seen on 12/01/2017)

place for the purpose of training.14 There are circumstances where indemnity bonds are signed by
the employee restricting the employees from leaving work which is justified on the ground of
training provided by the employer.

This is an issue which arises in sports also, as most of the sportsperson are made to sign
indemnity bonds by the clubs employing them to protect their interest. In Watson vs. Prager, the
contract between a boxer and his manager was for only three years, as prescribed by the boxing
board of control, but also contained an option for the manager to extend for further three years
which he purported to exercise. The boxer sought to established that the contract unenforceable.
He succeeded. The contract fell within the unreasonable restrain doctrine because it was
prescribed by the governing body rather than negotiated freely.15

In case of percept D’Mark (India) pvt ltd vs. Zaheer khan and anr, in which the court held that
under section 27 of the contract act, a restrictive covenant extending beyond the term of the
contract is void and not enforceable.16

The FIFA Players’ Statute Committee saw the extension clause as problematic, arguing that it
restricted the freedom of the player who could not make use of the same condition. In addition to
that, according to the committee, unilateral options, in principle, do not match with the general
principles of labor law. The case was taken to the Court of Arbitration for Sports – CAS. There,
it was analyzed that if the unilateral options were exercised the contract would be valid for five
years, which would be in literal accordance with the Article 18 of FIFA’s RSTP. In addition to
that, in exchange for the extensions, the contract clearly stated that the player would receive
benefits, being paid twice the initial wage in the fifth year of contract. CAS also stressed that the
player did not complain when the first extension option was exercised and only did so when a
job offer was presented by the Scottish club. In conclusion, the award focused on the principle
“pacta sunt servanda” which determines the need of respect towards the contract and its stability
that makes law between the signing parties.17

14 S. Gardiner, sports law, ed 1998, p 349.
15 Watson vs. pager (1991) 1 WLR 726, scott j
16 Percept D’Mark (India) pvt ltd vs. Zaheer khan and anr, AIR 2006 SC 3426.
17 André Gribel de Castro Minervino , ‘Freedom of movement and unilateral extension clauses in football’.

MINOR CONTRACTS

Athletes worldwide are recruited and trained from a young age. This highlights the issue of
whether contracts entered into by minor players are enforceable or not in sports.

Section 11 of the Indian contract act 1872. states that-

“Who are competent to contract.—Every person is competent to contract who is of the age of
majority according to the law to which he is subject,1 and who is of sound mind and is not
disqualified from contracting by any law to which he is subject. —Every person is competent to
contract who is of the age of majority according to the law to which he is subject,1 and who is of
sound mind and is not disqualified from contracting by any law to which he is subject."18

This makes any contract entered into by a minor void, however, exception to this rule are-

a. Contracts wherein a minor is supplied with necessities- those things without which a
person cannot exits; and

b. Contracts for employment- those that are made for the beneficial for the minor.

In the case of Clements vs. London & north western railways, a contracts enabling a minor to
pursue a career as a professional boxer and so as prudent person it held to be binding as the
contract was for the benefit of the minor.19

In the case of Robert vs. Gray minor, who was an aspiring billiards players, had contracted to
tour with a notable billiards players. The minor however unable to fulfill the terms of the
contracts. The courts held the minor liable for his failure to perform a contract as a contract for
the instruction for the minor was for his benefit.20

Much of the controversy surrounding the Olympics and sports in general is related to
doping. Doping is the use of prohibited material to magnify performance in sports.
The National Anti-Doping Agency was formed by the Government of India with the

18 The Indian contract act 1872, S11
19 Clements vs. London & north western railways, (1894) 2 QB 482, CA.
20 Robert vs. Gray, (1913) KB 5210, CA.

objective of working as the independent National Anti-Doping Organization for India. So

According to article 1.3 of Anti-Doping rule These Anti-

Doping Rules shall apply to the following Persons

(including Minors), in each case, whether or not such Person is a resident of India or not. It will

help the minor in continuing the contract.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AGENT AND THE ATHLETE

Agency is the fiduciary relationship that comes, when a principal, or athlete, show assent to an
agent for the agent to act on his or her behalf and subject to the athlete’s power. In return, the
agent must show assent or otherwise consent to represent the athlete. An athlete or agent can
show assent or intention through oral or written words, or even through conduct. An agency
relationship only arises when these elements are all present at the time of making contract21.

A. Contract Formation

When an athlete and agent enter into a contract, they form a legally binding agreement in which
parties make promises that can in turn be enforced through legal remedies if either of the parties
breaches the agreement in wrongful manner. These contracts bind the athlete himself legally or
his/her specific agent until their contract expires or revoked or is execute. For this reason, it is
important to understand every clause of contract between an athlete and agent is formed. Many
athlete-agent relationships start when an athlete is making the transition from inter-collegiate
athletics to the professional level athlete. It is not uncommon, however, in sports such as hockey,
for athletes it is very hard to skip the collegiate level and jump right into their professional
careers. Hockey players, are able to enter into the National Hockey League (NHL) squad at the
age of eighteen, thus are known to have agents recruiting them at as young of an age as fourteen.

B. Mutual Obligations assign in the Athlete-Agent Agency Contract

Every contract provides each party to the contract with obligations that must be performed as

part of the agreement to both parties. In an athlete-agent contract, not only do agents have rights

21 Katrina Barnett, <
http://www.kentlaw.edu/perritt/courses/seminar/barnett%20Sports%20Agents%20and%20Professional%20Athletes
%20by%20Katrina%20-%20Final%20Draft.pdf> Accessed on 16th February 2019.

and duties they must perform, but the athletes also have to do the same. Although it is very hard
for an agent to have more duties than the athlete in a contract between the parties, the athlete’s
performance on the court or field, and duty not to breach the contract as specified in the contract,
are very important. For any contract to work there must be trust and faith between the parties.
Working off of a foundation of trust, the contract drafting can focus on the duties of each party.

POSSIBLE LIABILITIES FOR ATHLETES

Concerning the actual contract an agent negotiates on behalf of an athlete, it is imperative to
know that the contract that is negotiated legally binds the third party and the athlete, not the
agent. Agents are not parties to the contracts they negotiate between an athlete and third party
unless the parties agree otherwise.22 While negotiating contracts with third parties, it is duty of
the agent to disclose the athlete’s identity so that the teams may negotiate different aspects, such
as the athlete’s salary, with full knowledge of the player’s abilities.

CONTRACTUAL DUTIES AND LIABILITIES

An athlete must perform his or her contractual duties. In return for following through with
contractual duties, an athlete is serve by his or her agent to the best of the agent’s ability. When it
comes to liability that comes from the contract on the behalf of the athlete, it is again stressed
that athletes only hire those agents whom he can trust. This is because of the liability an athlete
can subject to for the actions of his or her agent. When an agent acts on behalf of the athlete in
third party negotiations, the athlete is a party to the contract and thus becomes liable to that third
party. If, however, an agent makes a contract with a third party beyond the scope of the agent’s
authority, the athlete can still be subject to liability to the third party23.

TORT LIABILITIES

An athlete can be liable for his or her agent’s tortuous conduct when they are negligent in
supervising or selecting the agent that represents them. This liability extends to an athlete who
“delegates performance of a duty to use care to protect other persons or their property to an agent

22 Ibid 18.
23 Ibid 18.

who fails to perform the duty.” Additionally, Tort committed by the agent while acting on behalf
of the athlete with a third part, an athlete will be subject to vicarious liability24.

AN ATHLETE’S RIGHTS AND DUTIES

If an agent does not comply with the terms agreed upon within the agency contract, or breaches
his or her fiduciary duty to the athlete, the athlete has a cause of action he or she can go against
the agent. For example, in Gussin v. Shockey, the principal’s, a father and son, sued their agent
when they found out their agent, Richard Shockey, had been taking unauthorized commissions
behind their backs. Shockey, who was well versed in the trade and raising of race horses, was
hired by the Gussins to help them buy, raise, train, and sell race horses. Shockey agreed to work
as an agent from the Gussins25.

THE FIFA REGULATIONS ON WORKING WITH INTERMEDIARIES

The FIFA’s Regulations on Working with Intermediaries (the “FIFA Regulations”) implemented
or came into force on 1 April 2015 and give signals to the biggest transformation of player and
club representation in the history of professional football. The Football Association (“The FA”)
has become the first international association worldwide to publish its supplemental regulations
to the world26.

The introduction to the Regulations also expressly states that in the event of a conflict between
parties then FIFA Regulations, take precedence.

REGISTRATION OF INTERMEDIARIES

An applicant will be required to satisfy by the parties that they have an in accordance with
reputation, by confirming in the online application process that they meet the requirements of the
FA’s Test of Good Character and conduct and Reputation for Intermediaries. The test will be

24 Ibid 18.

25 Gussin vs. Shockey, 725 F. Supp. 271 (1989)

26 David Winnie,

http://www.mondaq.com/uk/x/491036/Sport/FIFA+New+Regulations+On+Working+With+Intermediaries

Accessed on 25th February 2019.

then published by The FA by 1 April 2015 and is likely to be same to the existing test of good
character and reputation under the Agents Regulations. As per the FIFA Regulations, an
intermediary is likely to be deemed to have an in accordance with reputation if amongst other
things “no criminal charges has ever been imposed upon the party for a financial or violent or
any kind of crime.27”

REPRESENTATION CONTRACT

There is no longer a need for a player to be advised to ask for independent legal advice after
signing a Representation Contract (of course, few players ever actually did so). An Intermediary
cannot execute Intermediary Activity without signing a Representation Contract with a player or
club or party, which must be submitted to The FA via the online portal within 10 days. A
mandatory terms in the representation contract of the FA’s standard Representation test should
be included. which has yet to be made public but which will be shorter than the current FA
template for agents, and the parties will be free to agree such other terms as are consistent with
the Regulations28.

REMUNERATION

The remuneration provisions in the Regulations favour closely the position under the Agents
Regulations. A case in point is the acknowledgement in Regs. C1 and C2 that an Intermediary
can be remunerated by the club or player for whom he acts i.e. club or board either in accordance
with the Representation Contract or, alternatively and as is often the case, the relevant paperwork
must be submitted to The FA at the time of the Transaction29.

DISCLOSURE AND PUBLICATION

27 International sports law commentary, < https://www.asser.nl/SportsLaw/Blog/post/a-short-guide-to-the-new-fifa-
regulations-on-working-with-intermediaries> Accessed on 25th February 2019.
28 Ibid 22.
29 FIFA, < https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/regulations-on-working-with-intermediaries-
2367763.pdf?cloudid=cr6dquxm2adupv8q3ply> Accessed on 24th February 2019.

The FA’s potential to bring out the names and registration numbers of all Intermediaries reflects
the current position under the Agents Regulations, as does its potential to publish any
disciplinary or other decision under the Regulations. The FA is also have power to publish a list
of every transaction in which an Intermediary has been a part of and the total consolidated
amount of all payments made by each club to Intermediaries (requirements of the FIFA
Regulations)30.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

The FA has permitted to act dual representation for many years and it is unsurprising that The
FA has reverse the player consent procedure from its Agents Regulations into its new
Regulations, with one main difference: under the Agents Regulations, a pre-existing
representation contract with a player was compulsory before an agent could also could
something for the club. As per the new Regulations, a pre-existing Representation Contract
with previous party will get entitle the Intermediary to represent another party or parties in a
Transaction, subject to obtaining the full consent (written) of all related parties of the contract in
the form prescribed by the FA from time to time31.

By abolishing the current licensing system and installing a new registration mechanism as from
April 2015, the new Regulations on Working with Intermediaries will be considered as a bomb
in ‘agent world’. Licensed agents will no longer get advantage from a protected status and will
need to be prepared to compete with other thousands of new agents entering the market. Also, a
revision of the standard contracts used by players’ agents will be crucial in order to be compliant
with FIFA’s new minimum standards32.

TERMINATION OF SPORTS CONTRACT

Contracts in sports are no longer different than contracts in today’s world. Professional athletes
are reimburse for their services with a paycheck just as everybody else. It is just an examination
of the nature of personal services contracts of pro athletes. However, even the incompetent

30 Ibid 26.
31 Ibid 26.
32 Ibid 26.

athlete deals with important contract-related issues. Incompetent athletes every now and then
have to make tough choices about changing their status from amateur to professional given the
dramatic increase in money that may be available to be gain in their sports. Some professional
athletes are paid a lot more money in one single year than most people ever earns in their whole
lifetimes33.

PUBLIC NATURE OF SPORTS CONTRACTS

Though principles of general contract apply in sports contracts, often such contracts are so
important to the particular league or community, that each community has a given a financial and
emotional interest only for seeing their team perform well. Of course some other sports do not
get the same sort of public exposure and generate the same widespread fan support34.

WRONGFUL DISMISSAL

This is essentially a common law claim. The normal forum for common law claims is the County
Court (or the High Court in high-value cases) the main issue would be whether or not the
dismissal was in breach of contract. Reasonableness and procedural issues are immaterial in a
breach of contract claim as the question is simply whether or not the employer acted in breach of
the employee’s contract35.

Relationship breakdown usually involves lots of finger pointing and blaming the other party. The
relationship between a professional footballer and his or her club is no different and the blame
game can be central to the question of who has the right to end a contract before the end of its
fixed term. Players who feel they are being denied the chance to play or even train in the first
team often want to escape the rest of their fixed term to protect their limited playing careers.

What are the legal remedies available in India to a sportsperson for an unfair dismissal? The
issue of illegal termination becomes even more critical with regards to the sports contract as
sports contracts are generally for a short duration. What is the status of a part time employee?

33 Croner-I < https://app.croneri.co.uk/topics/wrongful-dismissal/indepth> Accessed on 23rd February 2019.
34 Us legal, <www.uslegal.com> Accessed on 20th February 2019.
35 Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) < www.berr.gov.uk> Accessed on 24th February 2019.

Under the UK law, an employee with two years continuous employment can lay a claim for an
unfair dismissal. In India also, a person who attain the status of an employee would be entitled to
the remedies available under the various labour law legislation in case of unfair dismissal. But
the employee and the employer both have to fulfill the conditions stipulated under the various
labour law legislation36.

FIFA DISPUTE RESOLUTION CHAMBER CASE LAW

• U vs. P (29th August 2011)

In this DRC judge held that the rule in employment contract was ambiguous and that its
application was arbitrary, since it held to an unacceptable result based on non-objective criteria,
which entitled the respondent to unilaterally terminate the contract depending on the claimant’s
performance on the pitch- thus, the lack of objective criteria leading to an unjustified
disadvantage of the claimant’s financial rights. The judge also observed that the motive
presented by the respondent was his allegedly insufficient professional requirement, which are
rather a characteristic of the player rather than a deliberate act of non-compliance with the
professional duties37.

• F vs. S
The DRC judge held that a party signing a document of legal importance without knowledge of
its precise content, as a general rule, does so on its own responsibility. Moreover, the claimant
had never explicitly claimed that he had not signed the document in question or contested the
translation of the document provided by the respondent. Thus the employment contract was
mutually terminated and the claim of the player was rejected38.

• AAA vs. BBB

36 Ibid 32.
37 U vs. P (29th August 2011), Mukul Mudgal, Vidushpat Singhania, Laws & Sports in India, 2nd edition, Lexis
nexis.
38 F vs. S, Mukul Mudgal, Vidushpat Singhania, Laws & Sports in India, 2nd edition, Lexis nexis.

In this case the DRC emphasized that the employment contract at the basis of the present dispute
contain an arbitration clause in favour of national arbitration. Therefore, DRC established that
the respondent’s objection to the competence of FIFA to deal with the present matter has to be
accepted and that the DRC was not competent, on the basis of article 22 (b) to consider the
present matter as to the substance39.

39 AAA vs. BBB, Mukul Mudgal, Vidushpat Singhania, Laws & Sports in India, 2nd edition, Lexis nexis.