FC Banik Prievidza from Slovakia won a lawsuit that lasted over three years against SHB Da Nang FC of Vietnam, resulting in the latter being required to pay a fine and provide compensation of nearly US$73,000 for player training expenses.

“The club have successfully fulfilled the transfer of fines and compensation to the designated recipient, bringing the matter to a close,” Ngo Quoc Ta, chairman of SHB Da Nang FC, which are playing at Vietnam’s top-tier V-League 1, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Tuesday afternoon. 

“This incident serves as a valuable lesson for our club and other clubs in the realm of professional football.”

Bui Xuan Hoa, Ta’s predecessor, attributed the cause of the incident to the SHB Da Nang team’s lack of a specialist who is well-versed in the regulations and legal procedures involved in the transfer of player Pham Thanh Tiep.

Tiep was born in 1996 in Slovakia and trained at FC Banik Prievidza, which are competing in the Slovak third-tier league, since the age of 12 before making his debut for their first team in 2017.

In early 2019, Tiep came to Vietnam and embarked on a trial period with SHB Da Nang, ultimately securing a two-year contract with the club. 

However, due to a mismatch in playing style, Tiep proactively terminated his contract with SHB Da Nang, reimbursing one year’s worth of the signing fee.

According to FIFA regulations, when a club enter into a professional contract with a player under the age of 23, they are obligated to reimburse the training expenses to the player’s previous training institution. 

FC Banik Prievidza had twice issued written requests to SHB Da Nang, urging them to settle this cost, which amounted to over $60,000 at the time.

As SHB Da Nang failed to provide a response, the Slovak club initiated legal proceedings against them through FIFA’s Transfer Matching System in early October 2020. 

In response, FIFA issued a written request to SHB Da Nang, demanding a payment of over $60,000 to FC Banik Prievidza, with an additional five-percent interest due to the late payment.

By December 2020, SHB Da Nang had submitted a document to FIFA to dispute the claim. 

However, FIFA did not approve this document, as it was deemed invalid due to SHB Da Nang’s failure to meet the response deadline.

Hoa said that the incident occurred during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam, which resulted in a lack of communication between the SHB Da Nang team and the Vietnam Football Federation for better solutions.

Furthermore, placing excessive trust in the broker of Tiep’s transfer was another mistake made, the former SHB Da Nang chairman added. 

“The broker assured the club that all administrative procedures and transfer documents concerning Pham Thanh Tiep were entirely legitimate,” Hoa said. 

“Consequently, SHB Da Nang took the proactive step of submitting a lawsuit, along with a fee of $20,000, to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for arbitration.

“However, the appeal filed by SHB Da Nang was ultimately rejected by CAS, who mandated the club comply with FIFA’s ruling. 

“As a result, we owed a fine and compensation totaling $73,000 to FC Banik Prievidza.”

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!