- The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in favour of Cristian Paul Arano Ruiz, who sued Bolivia's Club Blooming through FABOL and FIFPRO for accumulated debts in the payment of salaries, prizes and bonuses
- The decision establishes jurisprudence in favour of Bolivian footballers to claim before the Bolivian Football Federation (FBF) and its courts for unpaid bonuses and prizes
- Arano Ruiz's case was taken to CAS by FABOL and FIFPRO in October 2024 in defence of the player's rights, after receiving a negative ruling on his claim from the FBF's High Court of Appeals in September 2024
Following a lawsuit jointly initiated by FIFPRO and Bolivian player union FABOL, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in favour of Cristian Paul Arano Ruiz in his claim against Club Blooming for debts accrued in 2022 for the payment of salaries, prizes and bonuses.
The CAS decision establishes jurisprudence in favour of Bolivian footballers to claim before the Bolivian Football Federation (FBF) and its courts for unpaid bonuses and prizes.
Arano Ruiz's case was taken to CAS by FABOL and FIFPRO in October 2024 in defence of the player's rights, after receiving a negative ruling on his claim from the FBF's High Court of Appeals (TSA) in September 2024.
The player sued Blooming, the club where he was contracted for 2022, for an overall debt of USD 42,200 in wages and bonuses and prizes for goals obtained.
In February 2023, sponsored by FABOL, Arano Ruiz filed the claim with the FBF's Dispute Resolution Tribunal (TRD). In October of that year the TRD ruled in favour of the midfielder, but the club took the case to the TSA.
Eleven months later, the TSA ruled that the TRD was incompetent to rule on bonuses and awards based on a 1993 Supreme Decree, so it partially reversed its decision and ordered Blooming to pay only the three salaries owed (USD 24,000). The ruling closed the door for Arano Ruiz to claim the bonuses and awards in the sports courts and forced him to go to the civil and commercial courts.
The CAS ruling, which annuls the TSA ruling and obliges Blooming to pay the full amount claimed plus five percent interest from September 2023, sets a precedent for any future claims by Bolivian footballers in relation to debts for contractually agreed bonuses and prizes: it confirms that the TRD is competent to rule on these disputes by applying the statutes and regulations issued by the FBF and FIFA.
