Focusing on the position of the Chinese Football Association, taking into account the reality of the epidemic, and from the overall strategy, the list of clubs admitted to the third tier league for the 2022 season was released at the beginning of April, and the clubs' plan for dealing with wage arrears and the corresponding penalties were announced, clearly setting out the three key points of time for dealing with wage arrears, which to a certain extent extended the timeframe for the clubs to deal with wage arrears. Because a fact that cannot be ignored is:
If the implementation of the old standard continues, only four clubs may remain in the 2022 season of the Premier League, and all other clubs with unpaid wages will be excluded, and the whole Premier League is feared to face collapse.
This is originally a special measure taken in the current special period, expecting the Chinese soccer community to be united and tide over the difficulties. Because a fact that cannot be ignored is:
If the implementation is forced to follow the old standard, the soccer club company that owes wages may simply file for cancellation or bankruptcy, and the main body will disappear, which means that it will be almost impossible for the players who are owed wages to recover the wages owed to them.
This situation has not occurred in the past in Chinese soccer. The CFA, as the highest governing body, has taken the approach of relaxing the time limit also in order to prevent the occurrence of large-scale bankruptcy for the sake of clubs and players.
However, after the introduction of such measures, on the contrary, it has become an excuse for some clubs to take the opportunity to make difficulties, such as the previous "QiYuXi ruling case", the club involved in the case of Heilongjiang Bingcheng Club on the use of the CFA to allow clubs to access the temporary measures of unpaid wages, that the Association should also bear the corresponding responsibility, the adjudication committee should not be alone in the determination of the QiYuXi free agency. Other players, including Dai Weijun, who also filed a request for reinstatement of the free agency ruling in the case of unpaid wages, were also opposed by the clubs. I am afraid that this has confused the legal concept.
2. Is the subordinate law superior to the superior law?
In discussing the question of whether a player who is owed three months' wages should apply for arbitration and obtain free agency, we need to make one point clear, that is, the provision on being owed three months' wages, so that a player can apply for free agency, is formulated by FIFA and is very clear in the relevant rules.
FIFA made this decision in order to maximize the legal rights of the players.
Between players and clubs, players, as the weaker party, are prioritized for protection by FIFA. It is also the legal right of a player to make a request for free agency after being owed wages for three months. This is a common rule in the world of soccer, and clubs or owners in any country or region of the world involved in soccer activities should clearly abide by such a rule. Therefore, the provisions of FIFA in this regard can also be regarded as the "supreme law" of the soccer sector.
In terms of jurisprudence, the access notice issued by the CFA in early April, as well as the three key points in time for dealing with wage arrears, is merely a special handling measure for a specific area (i.e., Chinese soccer) at a specific time in the current period, and is a "subordinate law." Moreover, this notice does not mean that the players can be deprived of their right to demand "free agency" in violation of FIFA's "higher law", which are two completely different concepts. According to basic legal common sense.
When a conflict arises between a "subordinate law" and a "superior law", it is fundamental that the "superior law" prevails over the "subordinate law". principle
(Note: The principle of precedence of the higher law over the lower law means that the higher normative legal document and the lower standard legal document should be applied. (Note: The principle of precedence of the higher law over the lower law means that in case of conflict between a normative legal document of a higher degree of effectiveness and a standardized legal document of a lower degree of effectiveness, the normative legal document of a higher degree of effectiveness shall be applied.) This principle mainly applies to normative legal documents of higher or lower rank).
Further, the access notice issued by the CFA is merely a method of dealing with the original wage arrears, and does not equate to the fact that the wage arrears situation has ceased to exist. Even if a player is granted free agency, the original club still needs to make up for the unpaid wages. The CFA's issuance of an access notice is merely a method of dealing with the original unpaid wages, and it is unreasonable to ask the Arbitration Committee not to rule that the player should be reinstated as a free agent.
This is just like the CFA temporarily lifted the transfer bans on Chinese Super League teams Wuhan and Chongqing, as well as Chinese First Division team Zibo Cuju. In fact, in addition to these three clubs, Shanghai Shenhua Club was also penalized in the same way, but the penalties were handed down by FIFA to Shenhua, while the three clubs mentioned above were handed down by the CFA. In view of the current domestic situation, the FA has temporarily lifted the ban on these three clubs, but the ban on Shenhua has not been lifted, because FIFA enforces the "higher law", and the CFA can only enforce the "lower law", and cannot violate the "higher law". The reason is that FIFA enforces the "higher law" and CFA can only enforce the "lower law" and cannot violate the "higher law". Therefore, after the CFA temporarily lifted the ban, Shenhua Club had negotiated with the CFA to see if it could do the same as the other three clubs. The response was:
Shenhua's ban only FIFA has the power to lift it.
With regard to the issue of unpaid wages, the situation is practically the same. After the CFA issued a notice of access to unpaid wages, many players reached a consensus with their clubs of origin, understanding the club's current predicament, and both sides signed a supplementary agreement, no longer requesting arbitration to restore their free agency, which is a player's right. However, many players failed to reach a consensus with their clubs of origin and resolutely demanded the restoration of their free agency, which is also a player's right, because the fact that wages are owed and have been owed for more than three months exists and will not be denied because of the treatment plan granted by the CFA.
3. Failure of the Football Association to make a clear statement
The policy adopted by the CFA in the context of the epidemic itself is not problematic, as "postponing the processing of salary arrears" and "the players' request for free agency arbitration" are two separate issues, and there is no causal relationship between them. However, the reason why the CFA issued the document at the beginning of April has been hotly debated may be the key:
The CFA was "incoherent", or rather not detailed, in issuing the notice.
If you add a sentence when issuing the notice, such as "deferring the processing of arrears of wages does not prevent the players from proposing free agency arbitration", the whole issue will not be so complicated, because it is completely in the implementation of the "superior law over the inferior law" of the basic common sense of the law, and will not be like the current situation. Now, so that people with ulterior motives used to "fan the flames". It is important to know that because of the lack of results in Chinese soccer, the current social image and status of the society is extremely low, resulting in any controversial issues will be subject to stronger criticism and attacks.
Unfortunately, over the years, the CFA has not had the realization that "failure is the mother of success". Therefore, for the Association, the introduction of any document, notice, even the slightest wording, must be repeatedly considered. The reason why this controversy and for the outside world to use, to quote the classic line in the world, "
Is it bitter? Chew and swallow!
