Can a football club fire a player or coach for poor sporting performance/results?
- valeryialukhverchy1
- 3 sept
- 3 Min. de lectura
We continue to share important information with you regarding the rights and obligations of athletes. In today’s article, you will learn whether a club can terminate the contract of a football player or coach due to poor sporting performance.
Although "poor sporting performance/results" are not mentioned as a valid reason for terminating an employment contract in the main document governing players' rights - the FIFA RSTP (FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players) - this rule stems from FIFA's dispute resolution practice and is supported by numerous CAS decisions.
It is important to note that, based on CAS case law, "poor sporting results" do not constitute sufficient grounds for terminating an employment contract, even if such a clause is included in the contract signed by both parties.
Coaches
The FIFA PSC (Players' Status Chamber) has also confirmed that the long-standing jurisprudence with respect to players and termination based on poor sporting performance is also applicable to coaches.
The poor sporting performance of a coach (or, more precisely, the team under their responsibility) per se was not a valid reason to cease paying due salaries or to terminate an employment contract, as this is a purely unilateral and subjective evaluation. Equally, a clause that generically entitles the employer to terminate a contract based on unsatisfactory performance of a coach is potestative in that it provides for an obligation of which fulfilment is subjective and can only be assessed by one party. It follows that such clauses cannot be upheld, given the imbalance of bargaining power of the employer and employee, and the limitation of rights it places on the employee.
In a case of the Portuguese coach, Mendes Pereira, against Mozambican Football Federation the PSC was called upon to analyse the justification of a termination by a member association based on the failure of a coach to achieve contractually stipulated sporting goals.
The parties agreed that the employer would be entitled to unilaterally terminate the contract without consequences if two cumulative targets were not reached:
(i) it was mathematically impossible for its national team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022; and
(ii) it was eliminated from the continental competition at an early stage. While assessing the contractual provisions, the PSC underlined that employers can provide necessary incentives to encourage employees to perform to the best of their abilities to reach a certain sporting goal.
Nevertheless, in light of the principle of contractual stability, a contract cannot be unilaterally terminated solely due to the non-achievement of a specific, collective and (overambitious) sporting goal as such occurrence would amount to enabling a dismissal for poor performance based on the assessment of subjective criteria.
Therefore, a club or federation cannot terminate an employment contract with a football player or coach due to poor sporting performance.
Useful links and cases
*Please note that the information provided above has been adapted for the general public. If you require professional legal assistance, you can contact us at info@estconsulting.net
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