CAS Case Digest · Verified against the full award text

TAS 2012/A/3009 — Arsenal Fútbol Club v. Central Español FC

"Arsenal v. Central Español" · CAS confirmed Arsenal FC (Argentina) must pay USD 255,833.33 training compensation to Central Español FC for player Gastón Filgueira Méndez.

What happened in Arsenal v. Central Español

Arsenal Fútbol Club (Argentina, affiliated to AFA/FIFA) appealed a FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber decision of 28 March 2012 ordering it to pay USD 255,833.33 in training compensation to Central Español FC (Uruguay, affiliated to AUF/FIFA) for player Gastón Filgueira Méndez, plus 5% annual interest from 9 March 2007. Arsenal argued: (i) all economic rights had been sold to company Vansomatic, whose payment covered training costs; (ii) Central Español had waived training compensation when it terminated the player's contract early; and (iii) in the alternative, the compensation amount should be reduced on grounds of Arsenal's second-division status in 2002, an incorrect calculation of the 2005 season, and the player having completed his training before age 21. The sole arbitrator, applying FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (2005 edition) and Swiss law subsidiarily, rejected all grounds. Arsenal failed to discharge its burden of proof: the transfer agreement was unsigned by Central Español, no evidence of the Vansomatic payment existed, the alleged waiver document did not expressly mention training compensation, and the coach's testimony confirmed the player was not fully trained before age 21. The DRC decision was confirmed in full. Arsenal was ordered to bear all arbitration costs and pay CHF 10,000 toward Central Español's legal costs. The case matters because it reinforces that training compensation is a default obligation under FIFA regulations, waivers must be express and restrictively interpreted, and the receiving club's category at the time of transfer governs the calculation for all seasons.

Procedural history of TAS 2012/A/3009

In December 2008 Central Español FC initiated proceedings before the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) claiming USD 255,833.33 in training compensation for player Gastón Filgueira Méndez. On 28 March 2012 the DRC issued its decision ordering Arsenal Fútbol Club to pay USD 255,833.33 plus 5% annual interest from 9 March 2007 until effective payment, and CHF 15,000 in procedural costs. Arsenal filed its appeal with CAS on 29 November 2012 pursuant to Article R48 of the CAS Code, submitting its grounds of appeal on 10 December 2012. FIFA waived its right to participate on 17 December 2012. Central Español filed its answer on 14 January 2013. On 10 April 2013 the President of the CAS Appeals Division appointed a sole arbitrator due to disagreement between the parties on the number of arbitrators. Juan Pablo Arriagada Aljaro was designated on 17 April 2013. A hearing was held on 25 June 2013 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Both parties signed the Procedural Order without objection to jurisdiction.

Key holdings in TAS 2012/A/3009

• Arsenal FC was obligated to pay training compensation to Central Español FC under FIFA Regulations, as the obligation arises automatically upon registration of a player under 23 years of age with a new club affiliated to FIFA.
• The burden of proving an exception to the training compensation obligation — including an alleged waiver or prior payment covering such compensation — rests on the party invoking that exception (Arsenal), and mere allegations without supporting evidence are insufficient.
• A waiver of training compensation must be express or, if tacit, clearly inferable from other acts; a declaration that a transfer occurred 'without price or economic benefit of any kind' does not constitute an express waiver of training compensation where the concept is not mentioned, and must be interpreted restrictively.
• For the purpose of calculating training compensation, the category of the new club is determined at the moment of the transfer, not in the individual seasons for which the calculation is performed, so Arsenal's Category I status at the time of transfer in 2007 applies to all seasons including 2002 when it was in the second division.
• The exception allowing training compensation to be calculated only until a player demonstrably completed his formation before age 21 is to be interpreted restrictively and was not established where the player had played only 14 official matches, received only two friendly international call-ups, and his own coach testified he was footballistically immature at the time of transfer.

How the CAS panel reasoned

The sole arbitrator first identified the undisputed facts and then addressed Arsenal's two main defences and three subsidiary calculation arguments. On the burden of proof, the arbitrator applied the universal principle of onus probandi — confirmed in repeated CAS jurisprudence — that the party alleging an exception to a general obligation must prove it. Arsenal's transfer agreement (Annex I) was unsigned by Central Español and therefore legally non-binding. No evidence of the Vansomatic payment of USD 100,000 was produced, and the company's alleged representative failed to appear as a witness. The 'International Transfer Request' document stating the transfer occurred 'without price or economic benefit' was found insufficient to constitute a waiver: training compensation was not expressly mentioned, the document's scope was limited to the transfer fee, and waivers of exceptional situations must be interpreted restrictively. Arsenal's new argument at the hearing — that the document evidenced a waiver — was also rejected as incompatible with its prior written case that Vansomatic's payment had covered training costs. On the calculation disputes, the arbitrator held that the receiving club's category at transfer date governs all seasons; that the 2005 season calculation must cover 7 months (not 6) to avoid omitting July 2005; and that Article 5.2 of Annex 4 of the FIFA Regulations refers to the full 'season' of the player's 21st birthday, not the exact date. The coach's testimony and objective indicators (14 matches, 2 friendly call-ups, no transfer fee) confirmed the player had not completed his formation before age 21.

Why Arsenal v. Central Español matters in CAS jurisprudence

This award reinforces that training compensation under the FIFA RSTP is a default obligation that cannot be extinguished by implication: waivers must be express and interpreted restrictively, and the burden of proving any exception lies squarely on the club seeking to avoid payment. It also settles that the receiving club's divisional category at the date of transfer — not its historical category in each training season — governs the compensation calculation, preventing distortions that would arise from applying varying historical categories. The case further illustrates CAS's strict approach to the onus probandi in training compensation disputes and its willingness to impose full costs on appellants who litigate without adequate evidentiary support.

Cases cited in this award

CAS 2005/A/968 CAS 2004/A/730 CAS 2012/A/2818 CAS 2007/A/1380 CAS 2009/A/1811

Frequently asked questions about Arsenal v. Central Español

Can a club waive training compensation by agreeing to a free transfer in Arsenal v Central Español?

No. The sole arbitrator held that a waiver of training compensation must be express — either in writing or clearly inferable from other acts — and must be interpreted restrictively because non-payment is an exception to the general rule. A declaration in the International Transfer Request that the transfer occurred 'without price or economic benefit of any kind' was insufficient because it did not expressly mention training compensation and could not be extended by analogy.

Which club category applies when calculating training compensation if the receiving club was in a lower division in a past season — Arsenal v Central Español?

The CAS sole arbitrator held that the category of the receiving club at the moment of the transfer governs the calculation for all seasons, including seasons when the club was in a lower division. In this case, Arsenal was in the second division in 2002 but was in the first division at the time of the February 2007 transfer, so Category I costs of USD 50,000 applied to the 2002 season rather than the Category II rate of USD 30,000 Arsenal had argued for.

Does paying for a player's economic rights to a third-party company offset training compensation owed to the former club — Arsenal v Central Español?

No. The arbitrator held that economic rights and training compensation are legally distinct concepts that cannot be conflated. Moreover, Arsenal produced no evidence that Central Español actually received USD 100,000 from company Vansomatic for economic rights, and the alleged representative of Vansomatic failed to appear as a witness, leaving the claim entirely unproven.

When does a player's training period end for FIFA training compensation purposes — can it end before age 21 as Arsenal argued?

Under Article 1.1 of Annex 4 of the FIFA RSTP (2005 edition), training compensation is paid for training up to age 21 unless it is 'evident' the player completed his formation earlier — an exception to be interpreted restrictively. In this case the arbitrator found it was not evident: the player had played only 14 official matches, received only two friendly international call-ups, and his own coach testified he was footballistically immature at the time of his transfer to Arsenal in February 2007.

Topics: Training compensation & solidarity at CAS

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