CAS upholds Spartans’ appeal

Ħamrun Spartans have received a terrific boost before the start of a new season after their appeal against a FIFA decision to pay compensation over the signing of Dutch forward Sylvano Comvalius in 2009 was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The case goes back to 2009 when three Dutch amateur clubs, Quick Boys, Almere City (formerly FC Omniworld) and Amsterdam FC sent a joint-letter to the Spartans demanding compensation for Comvalius on the grounds that the striker had signed his first professional contract when he joined the Maltese club.

According to FIFA rules, clubs are entitled to training compensation if a former player aged U-23 secures a professional deal with another team.

The three Dutch clubs referred the matter to FIFA whose Dispute Resolution Chamber ruled in favour of the applicants and slapped Ħamrun with a hefty compensation bill believed to be in the region of €180,000.

With the assistance of the MFA’s legal department, headed by Chris Bonett, Ħamrun lodged an appeal against the FIFA decision with the Lausanne-based CAS and engaged the services of a Swiss lawyer Volker Hesse to represent them.

Sources have told The Times that CAS upheld Ħamrun’s appeal after being presented with evidence that Comvalius had signed an employment contract with Quickboys before joining the Spartans.

Although Comvalius was still 21 when he signed for Ħamrun, CAS ruled that Quickboys were not entitled to compensation from the Maltese club as the contract had been mutually terminated and they didn’t show interest in retaining the player.

CAS have reportedly ordered the three Dutch clubs to pay all the costs of the arbitration.

The Dutchman is currently on the books of Chinese club Fujian Smart Hero.