From the perspective of the CFA, in view of the severe situation of the current epidemic, and from a holistic point of view, it released the list of clubs to be admitted to the third tier league for the 2022 season at the beginning of April, and synchronized with the announcement of the plan to deal with the issue of clubs' wage arrears and the corresponding penalties, clarifying the three key points in time for dealing with the arrears of wages, which in fact is a relaxation of the deadline for the clubs to deal with the arrears of wages. However, a reality that cannot be ignored is that if the old standards continue to be applied, there may only be four clubs left in the 2022 season of the Chinese Super League, and other clubs with unpaid wages will be excluded, with the entire Chinese Super League facing the risk of collapse.
This initiative was originally a special measure taken at a special time, with the expectation that the Chinese soccer community would be united in overcoming the difficulties. However, a reality that cannot be ignored is that, if forced to follow the old standards, soccer clubs with unpaid wages may simply apply for cancellation or bankruptcy, and the main body disappears, which means that it is almost impossible for players who are owed wages to recover their outstanding wages. This situation is unprecedented in the history of Chinese soccer. The CFA, as the highest management authority, has adopted the practice of relaxing the deadline, also to prevent the occurrence of large-scale bankruptcy situation, for the sake of clubs and players.
However, after the introduction of this practice, on the contrary, it has become an excuse for some clubs to take the opportunity to make difficulties, for example, once in the "Qi Yuxi ruling case", the club in question, Heilongjiang Bingcheng Club, that the CFA allows clubs to enter the temporary measures in arrears of wages, the Association should also bear the corresponding responsibility, and the adjudication committee should not only be sentenced to Qi Yuxi himself. Other players, including Dai Weijun, who also requested a ruling on restoration of free agency in the case of unpaid wages, were also opposed by the clubs. I am afraid that this is somewhat confusing legal concepts.
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, it is necessary to make one point clear: the provision that a player can apply for free agency if he is owed three months' wages is formulated by FIFA and is very clear in the relevant rules. The reason why FIFA made such a decision is to maximize the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of the players. Between the players and the clubs, the players, as the weaker party, are prioritized for protection by FIFA. It is also the legitimate right of a player to make a request for free agency after being owed wages for three months. This is a common rule in world football, and clubs or owners in any country or region of the world that are 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 points in time for dealing with unpaid wages, is merely a special treatment for a special area (i.e., Chinese soccer) at a special time, and is a "subordinate law". Moreover, this notice is not equivalent to deviating from FIFA's "higher law" and depriving players of the right to demand "free agency", which are two completely different concepts. According to the basic legal common sense, when the "lower law" and "higher law" conflict, "higher law" is superior to "lower law "is the basic principle. (Note: the principle of the superior law over the subordinate law refers to the fact that in the case of a conflict between a normative legal document of a higher degree of effectiveness and a normative 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 documents of higher or lower rank.)
Further, the access notice issued by the CFA is merely a method of dealing with the original salary arrears, and is not the same as the situation of salary arrears no longer exists. Even if the player has obtained free agency, the original club still needs to make up for the unpaid wages. It would be unreasonable to ask the Arbitration Committee not to award the player back his free agency with the help of the CFA's method of dealing with the original salary arrears.
This is like the CFA had temporarily exempted the Chinese Super League team Wuhan, Chongqing, and the Central League team Zibo Cuju transfer ban, in fact, by the "ban on the registration of new players disciplinary action" in addition to these three clubs, Shanghai Shenhua club was also subjected to the same disciplinary action, but to Shenhua issued disciplinary action by FIFA, while the three clubs were issued by the Chinese Football Association (CFA), but the three clubs were issued by the CFA. The three clubs mentioned above were issued by the CFA. In view of the current domestic situation, the FA has temporarily exempted these three clubs from the ban, but Shenhua's ban has not been exempted 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 waived 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: "Only FIFA has the right to waive Shenhua's ban."
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 the right of the players, because the fact that the wages are in arrears and have been in arrears 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 be incoherent
As far as the policy adopted by the FA in the epidemic situation is concerned, there is actually no problem, because "postponing the handling of salary arrears" and "the players' proposal for free agency arbitration" are two separate issues in themselves, and there is no causal relationship between them. However, after the FA issued the document in early April, the reason why it will be discussed, I am afraid that the key lies in: the FA issued the notice there is "incoherent", or not exhaustive problem.
If you add a sentence when issuing the notice, such as "deferring the processing of arrears of wages does not affect the players to propose free agency arbitration", the whole issue will not be so complicated, because it is completely in the implementation of the "superior law is superior to the subordinate law" of the basic common sense of the law, and will not be like the current situation. Now, so that people with ulterior motives to use "finger pointing". It is important to know that, due to the lack of results in Chinese soccer, the current social image and social status is extremely low, resulting in any controversy will be subject to stronger criticism and attack.
Unfortunately, over the years, the CFA has not been "failure is the mother of success". Therefore, for the Football Association, the introduction of any document, notice, even the slightest word, must be repeatedly scrutinized. And the reason why this controversy and for the outside world to use, to quote the world of the classic line, "
Is it bitter? Chew and swallow!
