--- title: "Răzvan Constantin Oaidă v Universitatea Cluj \u0026 RFF in CAS arbitration" sdDatePublished: "2026-08-28T12:10:00Z" source: "https://www.tas-cas.org/generated%5Cassets%5Clists%5Cfeb900ba-1137-4b78-a9ff-d68af7869087%5CCAS%2012005%20-%20Award%20Final%20(for%20publ.).pdf" topics: - name: "football" identifier: "medtop:20001065" - name: "sport organisation" identifier: "medtop:20001125" - name: "judiciary" identifier: "medtop:20000106" - name: "employment" identifier: "medtop:20000509" locations: - "Lausanne" - "Bucharest" - "Cluj-Napoca" - "Austria" - "Romania" --- Răzvan Constantin Oaidă v Universitatea Cluj & RFF in CAS arbitration CAS 2025/A/12005 Răzvan Constantin Oaidă v. Universitatea Cluj & RFF ARBITRAL AWARD delivered by the COURT OF ARBITRATION FOR SPORT sitting in the following composition: Sole Arbitrator: Espen Auberg, Attorney-at-Law, Oslo, Norway in the arbitration between Răzvan Constantin Oaidă, Romania Represented by Anca Mituică and Andrei Iordăchescu, Attorneys-at-Law, Bucharest, Romania - Appellant - and Universitatea Cluj, Romania Represented by Sevastian Botnari, Executive Director, Cluj Napoca, Romania, and Vlad Hosu, Attorney-at-Law, Bucharest, Romania - First Respondent – & Romanian Football Federation (RFF), Romania Represented by Adrian Stangaciu and Paul Ciucur, Attorneys-at-Law, Bucharest, Romania - Second Respondent – CAS 2025/A/12005 Răzvan Constantin Oaidă v. Universitatea Cluj & RFF – Page 2 I. PARTIES 1. Mr Răzvan Constantin Oaidă (the “Appellant” or “the Player”) is a professional football player of Romanian nationality. 2. Asociația Sportivă Fotbal Club Universitatea Cluj (the “First Respondent” or “the Club”) is a professional football club based in Cluj Napoca, Romania, currently participating in the highest professional football league in Romania. The First Respondent is registered with the Romanian Football Federation (“FRF”), which in turn is affiliated with Union des Associations Européennes de Football (“UEFA”), and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (“FIFA”). 3. FRF (the “Second Respondent”, occasionally also abbreviated “RFF”) is the national governing body for football in Romania, with its registered office in Bucharest, Romania. 4. The Appellant and the Respondents are hereinafter jointly referred to as the “Parties”. II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND 5. Below is a summary of the main relevant facts, as established on the basis of the written submissions of the Parties, as well as the evidence examined in the course of the proceedings. This background information is given for the sole purpose of providing a summary of the dispute. Additional facts may be set out, where relevant, in connection with the legal analysis. While the Sole Arbitrator has considered carefully all the facts and evidence submitted by the Parties in the present proceedings, this Award refers only to the facts and evidence considered necessary. A. Background Facts 6. On 18 September 2024, the Player completed a transfer from the Romanian club Fotbal Club Rapid S.A. to the Club, and the Parties signed an employment contract, which was valid for the term from 18 September 2024 until 31 May 2026 (the “Contract”). Article 1 (2-i) of the Contract states, inter alia, that the Parties agree “to act in accordance with the laws of Romania, applicable collective agreements, the rules and regulations of FIFA, UEFA and the Romanian Football Federation when exercising the rights and obligations under this Contract”. 7. Furthermore, Article 3 of the Contract states that the Player undertakes to, inter alia, participate actively in the Club's training sessions and in the matches for which he is selected, unless he is prevented from doing so by illness, accident or permitted absence, and to execute the obligations on the basis of the Contract in accordance with the reasonable instructions of the head coach, other Club officers and the Club Directors. 8. Remuneration is regulated in Article 4 of the Contract, which stipulates that the Club undertook to pay to the Player a monthly net remuneration of EUR 11,000 for the period 18 September 2024 until 30 June 20025, and EUR 12,000 for the period 1 July 2025 until 31 May 2026, all payable on the 25th of each month, for the previous month. CAS 2025/A/12005 Răzvan Constantin Oaidă v. Universitatea Cluj & RFF – Page 3 Furthermore, the Club undertook to pay to the Player a sign-on bonus of EUR 15,000, payable in two instalments of EUR 7,500 each, on 1 October 2024 and 1 February 2025. 9. Article 5 of the Contract states that the Club undertook to, inter alia, ensure that the Player is given optimal conditions for playing matches and training with the Club. 10. Termination of the Contract is regulated in Article 13, which states as follows: “Article 13: Termination of the contract i. This contract is automatically terminated at the end of the period for which it is concluded. ii. This contract may be terminated before its date of expiry, by mutual agreement of the parties. iii. In case of occurrence of a force majeure, this contract shall be terminated in accordance with the provisions of applicable law. iv. The player or the club may unilaterally terminate the contract only subject to the conditions and with the consequences stipulated by the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players of FIFA/FRF (as applicable). v. If the Player or Club unilaterally terminates the contract with just cause, the other party shall be sanctioned in accordance with the provisions of the RSTP of FIFA/FRF in force (as applicable). Similarly, if the Player or Club unilaterally terminates the contract without just cause, the terminating party shall be sanctioned in accordance with the provisions of the RSTP of FIFA/FRF in force (as applicable). vi. The contract is automatically terminated, becomes null starting with 01.07.2025, if the team relegates in Second League at the end of the competitive season 2024 – 2025, and the player and the club agree with such termination of the contract.” 11. During the 2024/2025 season, the Player participated in seven official matches for the Club. 12. On 8 June 2025, after the conclusion of the 2024/2025 season, there was a telephone conversation between the Player and the Club’s Head Coach, Mr. Ioan Ovidiu Sabău. The Player alleges that the Head Coach informed the Player that the Head Coach was no longer counting on the Player and that the Player should look for another team. 13. On 9 June 2025, the Club’s Sports Manager, Mr. Gabriel Giurgiu, sent the Player a WhatsApp message with the following content: “I know that this is not an easy moment and that it is a situation that no one wanted, but at this moment, unfortunately, Neluțu is no longer counting on your services in the next season! We need to find a solution together, but there is no question of paying you the remainder of your contract! Call me when you can! Have a good evening!” CAS 2025/A/12005 Răzvan Constantin Oaidă v. Universitatea Cluj & RFF – Page 4 14. On 12 June 2025 the Player reported for the Club’s first pre-season training for the 2025/2026 season. The Player alleges that he was instructed to train separately from the rest of the squad, and that he was requested to perform training sessions that consisted exclusively of running exercises. The Player further claims that from 12 June until 26 July 2025, with the exception of four training sessions conducted between 1 and 4 July 2025, he was not coached or assisted by the Club’s head coach or any other coach, and that he was denied access to collective team training and prevented from interacting with his teammates. 15. On 19 June 2025, the Player’s legal representative sent a letter to the Club, stating, inter alia, as follows: “As a result of all the aspects mentioned above, we request you: 1. To communicate to us the program of the club's first division team in which, starting with June the 20th, 2025, the player Răzvan Oaidă is to participate; 2. Secondly, in the event that A.S.F.C. Universitatea Cluj does not understand to respect the player's right to team training, we request you to communicate to us the reasons why A.S.F.C. Universitatea Cluj decided to exclude the player from the first division team” 16. Also on 19 June 2025 the Player claims he was verbally informed by the Club’s Executive Manager that he would not be removed from the Club’s A List, which identifies the players the Club may register for matches organized by the Romanian Professional Football League (“LPF”), but that he would be required to train individually for the remainder of the competitive season. 17. On 24 June 2025 the Player travelled with the team to Austria and subsequently attended a pre-season training camp between 24 June and 5 July 2025. 18. On 26 June 2025, the Player’s legal representative sent an email with an enclosed letter to the Club. The email states, inter alia, as follows: “In view of the lack of any response from you over the last 6 weeks and of the impossibility of continuing the abuses to which Mr. Oaidă Răzvan is knowingly and intentionally subjected, please find attached the fourth notice sent, regarding the finding that, without just cause, as of 17 July 1015, A.S.F.C. Universitatea Cluj has terminated the contractual relationship.” 19. The letter enclosed with the email sent on 26 June 2025 states, inter alia, as follows: “From June the 19th, 2025 until the present date, player Răzvan Constantin Oaidă has been training at the same hours as the first division team, but outside the team, being required to do individual training, consisting exclusively of running (…) We reiterate the request addressed to you back in June the 19th, 2025 and we ask you to communicate to us within one day from the date of communication of this, the following: CAS 2025/A/12005 Răzvan Constantin Oaidă v. Universitatea Cluj & RFF – Page 5 The training program for the first division teams starting with June the 28th, 2025 to which the player Răzvan Oaidă is to report, with the exact indication of the date and hours of training. In the event that this request remains unanswered, or you deny the player access to the team’s training, we will understand that Cluj University Football Club Sports Association has expressed its intention to terminate, without just cause, the sports activities agreement concluded on September the 18th, 2024, and the arbitration committees within the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) will be notified.” 20. On 4 July 2025, during the pre-season training camp in Austria, the Player participated in a friendly match between the Club and Slovan Liberec. 21. On 16 July 2025, the Player’s legal representative sent a letter to the Club, stating, inter alia, as follows: “In the event that you continue to decline the participation of the player Răzvan Oaidă in collective training, within the club’s team, the player's reinstatement and his evolution for A.S.F.C. Universitatea Cluj (Cluj University Football Club Sports Association) or this notification remains unanswered, we will consider that A.S.F.C. Universitatea Cluj has expressed its intention to terminate the sports activities agreement no. 1166/18.09.2024, without just cause.” 22. Match sheets from two qualifying matches played on 24 and 30 July 2025 indicate that the Player was registered by the Club for participation in UEFA Conference League qualifying matches. 23. At an unknown date the Player was included on the Club’s A List for the 2025–2026 season. 24. On 26 July 2025, the Player’s legal representative sent a letter to the Club entitled “Termination Letter”, stating, inter alia, as follows: “Considering the impossibility of continuing the present situation and mediating in another manner the conduct of A.S.F.C. Universitatea Cluj, which, during the last 6 weeks, refused to respect the contractual and regulatory rights of Mr. Răzvan Oaidă, without any basis, by referring to the provisions of article 18 paragraph 10 letter a) of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Football Players (R.S.T.J.F.) and articles 17 of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (FIFA RSTP), we will understand that A.S.F.C. Universitatea Cluj has terminated, without just cause, the sports activities agreement no. 1166/18.09.2024, starting from July the 17th, 2027 (the date of the deadline in the