In slightly more seriousness, there’s no prospect at all this will ever be litigated in public so we’ll just have to wait for L’Equipe to tell us the final score from CAS in a few months’ time.
True. But while it's all in the dark it just feels like another layer of incompetence over the Zuniga fiasco. Just people not knowing what they are doing.
Or just working in a business rife with competing interests, **** loads of money and dodgy intermediaries everywhere you turn? It hardly sounds like a recipe for harmony. We’ve done Zuniga before on here so I won’t revisit but Gueye was what it was. I presume they announced him because they thought it would strengthen their hand in what’s to follow. I guess we’ll see when we have the final reckoning.
I take your point, but if it's a contractual error then surely it's incompetence. In Zuniga's case it seems not understanding the terms of the contract and for Gueye announcing a signing where there was a contractual gap. None of this is really to do with agents and money and competing interests. It's just legal contractual competence no? And as you say, maybe Marseille will get a 2 year transfer ban and Gueye won't be allowed to play. I imagine they think they have a strong legal hand though given how bold/outrageous they have been..
Yeah, I mean what normal transfer announcement has this sort of wording in it: “With Gueye's current deal at France Ligue 2 side Le Havre expiring this summer, an official agreement has already been lodged with all relevant authorities.” The answer is they don’t. The announcement was clearly just a way to try and strengthen our hand legally as UAE says, and who can blame them for trying to hold a player to a contract and trying to make sure they’re on the strongest legal footing possible to obtain any fee we’re due?
Totally agree. Seems like the agent taking the piss and the player trying to wangle his way out of a legally binding contract. Hope we get a decent fee for the little ****. Probably won't though.
If they are worried about "holding a player to a contract" I imagine they are worried the contract isn't as watertight as it should be? And this is born out by the guy signing for Marseille.
Genuine question - is there any previous examples of a player signing a contract and then ripping it up and signing for someone else without massive penalties for the club and player involved? If that doesn't happen then surely it's a complete mockery and it's just open season.
As UAE says, it will all come out in the wash won’t it? The Pozzos have signed how many players in their time, maybe thousands? I’d imagine they’ve got the legalities fairly well nailed, this guy and/or his agent seemingly changed their mind and decided to renege on it, whether that is legal or not will come out eventually.
At face value what happened with Zuniga was odd. You loan someone on the basis that you’ll agree to make it permanent if they play 12 official matches. We deliberately played him in 11 first team games but FIFA decided the nonsense U23 league counts too and so his extra 2 ‘games’ in the amateur reserve league, probably at the training ground against lower league opposition, tipped him over the edge. It could be awful contract drafting or it could be FIFA being asked to look a standard English football contract term for the first time and coming up with an out of the box interpretation. My very basic understanding of contracts in a English football is they follow templates agreed by the FA, the leagues and the PFA and so are packed with standard terms. I really wish FIFA would publish their judgment as if you’re right I’d be the first to knock the club for sloppy work. As for Gyeye, I think it’s all about show for now. Both sides have to do everything to give the impression they have a strong hand. None of us know what the paperwork says so we just have to wait and see how it ends up. My suspicion is it’ll be settled, both sides will announce he’s moved for an undisclosed fee and none of us will be any the wiser.
You claimed Pozzo has the legal aspect nailed. He clearly didn't in this case at least according to the football authorities.
I suppose I mean when it comes to whether they’ve actually signed a player or not, and they’ve signed a few.
Came off the bench and made his Ligue 1 debut tonight - surely that means Marseille have ratified the transfer and must be in the clear? If there was any doubt surely they couldn’t play him?
This will only increase the compensation they owe us when they’re found to have breached contract laws.
Not really. They are in a bit of a catch 22. They can't not play him as that gives weight to the Watford case. Playing him though increases their exposure to risk.
Hardly surprising though is it..? More chance of bumping into the pope on Occupation Road than reading a club statement on the ‘fishal site.
Only 'comunicados oficiales' we get from the club site are passive aggressive statements towards recently sacked managers (and the club who tapped them up), or vague declarations of ambition
Started today vs PSG, the biggest game in French football. He's going to be some player for us when he returns from his loan to help us in the Championship next season
Got booked for a great tackle on Neymar as well, won the ball cleanly and left Neymar rolling around as usual. Genuinely would be annoyed about this more if we were still in the PL. But in reality, he’d be another now just refusing to play and Gino would probably end up just giving him to Marseille anyway.
