UFL: Outside counsel says Global has better right to Rufo Sanchez

The UFL sought opinion from outside counsel with regards to the contract dispute over striker Rufo Sanchez, between clubs Stallion FC and Global FC, and the lawyer asked to go over the case opined that the latter team has "the better right to include the Player's name [Rufo Sanchez] in its roster of players."

Atty. Leonido Pulido, who had been contacted by UFL General Manager Cesar De Larrazabal last September, wrote back saying, "Based on my understanding of the facts, it appears that FC Stallion failed to properly exercise its option to renew the Stallion Contract [of Sanchez] during the term of such contract. Thus, the Stallion Contract expired on August 15, 2013, and was no longer in force when FC Stallion submitted its roster of players to UFL [for the Preseason Cup] in September 2013," according to documents obtained by GMA News Online.

The league and Stallion FC did not respond when asked to comment by the writer.

Paragraph 18

The basis for Atty. Pulido's opinion is Paragraph 18 of Sanchez's contract, which was also obtained by GMA News Online, where it says that "any notice, request, approval or consent under this contract," which would include exercising the team's option to extend Sanchez's deal, "will be sufficiently given if in writing and delivered in person or mailed (registered mail) by one party to the other at the address set forth in this contract or to such other address as the recipient may subsequently have furnished in writing to the sender."

According to Atty. Pulido, FC Stallion instead "provided copies of two electronic mail notices of its exercise of its option sent on August 3 and 9, 2013….my understanding is that FC Stallion has not provided proof that either of the electronic notices was received by the Player. Thus, it cannot be said that such electronic notices were delivered in person to the Player. If the written notices were not delivered in person, the Stallion Contract requires the same to be delivered by registered mail at the proper address."

Either Sanchez did not receive the emails or did not believe this to be an actual extension of the contract, given the stipulations within Paragraph 18 itself, and so, he announced on August 16 that he had left Stallion. A little under a month later, Global then announced that they had signed Sanchez, leading to the current battle between the two sides.

One-year ban

Despite the opinion given by Atty. Pulido last September 10, the UFL only responded by asking Global to refrain from fielding Sanchez while they continued to deliberate the case.

However, with the outside legal opinion and Global's own legal counsel telling them they would win a legal battle, Global fielded Sanchez in several Preseason Cup matches, which led to the UFL overturning the team's results where Sanchez played. That also resulted in a letter of sanction last September 24, due to the lack of a Player Transfer Certificate between Stallion and Global, warning the latter side that Sanchez should refrain from any and all competitions, even training with Global.

An interesting aside is that no fewer than 90 players in the recently released rosters for the UFL CUp have failed to secure Player Transfer Certificates as of writing and are under investigation, while two players, Lee Jeong Woo and Park Yi Young, appear on both Team Soccerro and General Trias' rosters.

While Global kept Sanchez out of UFL competitions, they still fielded him in the Singapore Cup last October 1, which led to the UFL slapping him with a one-year ban on October 4, just before the kickoff of the second leg of against Tanjong Pagar.

Regarding the ban, the UFL top-level management said that they were looking for a UFL rule on the issue while deciding on the case, as this is likely the first contract dispute to pop-up in UFL jurisdiction. Given that a few years ago, no player in the UFL had contracts, it is a relatively recent issue for the league, and one that their rules and regulations aren't yet properly equipped for, as a result, which is understandable to a certain degree.

As a result, the league, last Thursday, hired legal counsel to judge the issue and give their recommendation to the PFF, which is hearing Global's appeal of the one-year ban. No date or timeframe though has been given with regard to how long the process will take.

Whatever happens, Philippine football has lost in this case. Only a speedy and fair solution will get the focus back on the pitch and the progress that the sport has recently had, which includes rising to the top of Southeast Asia in the latest edition of the FIFA rankings.  - AMD/OMG, GMA News