Exclusive:Clarity offered as Sheffield Wednesday players reach ‘walkout’ deadline over contracts

It’s part of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, which state that ‘in the case of a club unlawfully failing to pay a player at least two monthly salaries on their due dates, the player will be deemed to have a just cause to terminate his contract, provided that he has put the debtor club in default in writing and has granted a deadline of at least 15 days for the debtor club to fully comply with its financial obligation’.

There has been lots of mixed messaging on what it all means, and what the next steps are should the 15-day deadline be reached without payments being made, a deadline which is coming in the next couple of days.

For further clarity, we reached out to Espen Auberg, a Norwegian sports lawyer who has been an Arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport since 2019. He was able to unpack in more detail – in his experience - who can leave, how they can do it, and what happens if payments are settled before the deadline is reached. He is also the President of the Norwegian Sports Law Association and a former member of the UEFA Legal Committee.

Sheffield Wednesday’s potential player walkout

Speaking to The Star, Auberg said, “Article 14bis gives the player the right to unilaterally terminate the contract given that at least two months' salary are outstanding and the club has been given a 15 days' notice. It's up to the players to terminate their contracts if those conditions are fulfilled, and they will then be entitled to sign for new clubs, and to compensation.

“FIFA will, in principle, handle disputes of an international dimension, i.e. with foreign players, but for UK players there might be that domestic regulations and tribunals issued/organized by EFL/FA that come into play.

“It will normally be undisputed that the contract has been terminated, so the tribunals will assess the consequences of the termination, hereunder if it was justified. If the club pays the full owed amount within the 15-day period then a termination cannot be based on 14bis.”

Simply put, any player who has been is owed the equivalent of two months’ salary and hasn't been paid up in 15 days after giving notice can unilaterally terminate their contract, effective immediately. But anyone who has been part paid over the last two months, or is paid in full before the 15 days are up, cannot use article 14bis to terminate their contract.

How many players are actively hoping to leave and how many handed in their notice to keep their options open or apply some pressure to Dejphon Chansiri remains to be seen, but with July 15th now just one day away, the club seems to be at a very real risk of losing assets for nothing.

How things will play out, of course, remains to be seen, and that is something previously acknowledged by PFA chief executive, Maheta Molango, who told PA recently, “Our role is not to tell them what they need to do, (it is) to give them the tools and say, ‘this is what you could do if those criteria are met’. Then it is for them to assess what they want to do, because I wouldn’t take it for granted that just because certain criteria are met, automatically someone just terminates their contract. There are other considerations.”

Ultimately Several players have been linked with moves away this summer, however two who were seen as assets, Anthony Musaba and Djeidi Gassama, are set to move away for a fee. Musaba was signed by Samsunspor over the weekend, while Gassama is on the brink of joining Rangers.

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