FK Velez Mostar v. Frane Ikic

FK Velez Mostar of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatian player Frane Ikic signed an employment agreement on 1 July 2022. After poor sporting results, the club's own disciplinary commission sanctioned its players and staff with a 30% reduction of August 2022 salaries. Ikic emailed the club on 26 December 2022 requesting to terminate the contract by mutual consent; the two sides exchanged communications and agreed to meet, but the relationship deteriorated. Ikic sent the club a default notice on 19 January 2023, collected his outstanding December salary on 27 January 2023, and ultimately terminated the employment agreement on 10 February 2023, citing the club's breaches. Ikic sued for compensation before the FIFA Football Tribunal Dispute Resolution Chamber, arguing termination with just cause; the FIFA DRC awarded him compensation.

Velez Mostar appealed to CAS arguing the compensation figure was excessive under FIFA RSTP Article 17. The Sole Arbitrator, Ken E. Lalo, confirmed a point of real practical importance for any club seeking to challenge a compensation award on appeal: it is the party alleging that compensation is excessive who bears the burden of proving it — a figure is not presumed excessive merely because the paying party disagrees with it.

Velez Mostar was unable to discharge that burden on the evidence it presented. The appeal was partially upheld with the underlying compensation figure modified only slightly, and costs were split three-quarters to the club and one-quarter to the player, with the club ordered to pay a further CHF 2,500 toward Ikic's legal fees.

The case is a clear illustration of how difficult it actually is to overturn a compensation award on an excessiveness argument alone: the club's own disciplinary sanction against its players, followed by a breakdown in the employment relationship it did not resolve before the player terminated, left it with little room to argue the resulting compensation figure was disproportionate.