With Mamelodi Sundowns attacker Lucas Ribeiro Costa threatening to terminate his contract, KickOff spoke to a law expert on termination grounds in the South African law and FIFA's RSTP.
In a leaked letter that Lucas Ribeiro Costa sent to Sundowns, he suggested an intention to terminate his contract with the club on a "just cause", on the basis that the Tshwane giants are not accepting bids for his services from interested teams abroad.
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The 26-year-old also seemed to rely on the Diarra ruling by the Court of Justice of the EU (European Union), which he cited in his controversial letter.
However, with South African legal experts suggesting the Diarra ruling was based on European laws, which are not applicable in Africa, the player could be frustrated by the issue of jurisdiction.
This website spoke to Lesedi Mphahlele, Attorney and Director at Fairbridges Wertheim Becker, on whether terminating a contract on the basis of a club allegedly making unreasonable demands on a transfer fee would suffice as grounds for termination.
"In the prevailing dispute, the contract law principle sunt servanda finds application. This principle provides that contractual provisions must be upheld, subject to termination grounds expressly contained in the said contract," Mphahlele explained.
"Ribeiro's contract with Sundowns runs until July 2028, as publicly reported. He claims to be terminating "for just cause", which implicitly suggests that Mamelodi Sundowns may not be in breach.
"Otherwise one would expect reliance to be placed on more substantive grounds of termination such as contractual non-performance by the club."
The legal guru also indicated that terminating a contract on a "just cause" stipulated by FIFA would also require a serious breach from the Chloorkop-based outfit.
"Article 14 of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) provides that a contract may be terminated by either of the parties without consequences of any kind where there is a just cause.
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Indications are that Sundowns are back in negotiations with clubs bidding for Ribeiro's services.
Photo: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
