Keegan’s tribunal findings – summary.
Posted on October 2nd, 2009 | 60 Comments |
In the simplest terms Keegan was constructively dismissed and has been awarded £2m as a result.
The player that kicked all this off was Nacho Gonzalez. Keegan was asked by the club to sign the player to ‘do a favour’ to two South American agents. No one from the club had actually seen Nacho play and all Keegan had to go on was a couple of YouTube videos. Keegan refused to sanction the signing of the player but the club went ahead and signed him anyway.
This was what tipped things over the edge but the bigger underlying issue was that Keegan was being denied the final say on transfers.
Keegan’s contract wasn’t totally clear on whether or not he had the final say on transfers, although it did contain a clause to the effect of “performing the duties expected of a Premiership manager“. This – along with public statements made by Wise and others, the fact that Keegan took the job in the first place and the fact that Kinnear was given the final say on transfers within the same club structure – persuaded the tribunal that Keegan’s contract implicitely gave him the final say on transfers even if it didn’t do so explicitly.
The tribunal accepted that in proceeding with the Nacho signing against Keegan’s wishes, the club knew it might push Keegan into resignation, yet they did so anyway. Keegan was thus constructively dismissed.
Keegan claimed that losing his job had cost him the £8,607,534 wages remaining on his contract; he also claims he suffered ‘stigma damages’ which might prevent him from gaining future employment and he estimated those stigma damages at £16,500,000. The club rejected any such claims and stated that a clause in his contract limiting his payout to £2m was valid and thus that’s what they awarded him.
Other things the tribunal cleared up are:
- Keegan was never offered a chance to settle for £4m as reported in the press.
- The club admitted at the tribunal that it intentionally misled the press, public and fans of Newcastle.
- Keegan had a ‘difficult’ relationship with Wise and Jiminez anyway, although the tribunal accepted that this alone would not have prompted Keegan to leave.
- The club’s claim that Keegan used the Nacho incident as a ‘convenient excuse’ to walk out was not true.
- The atmosphere in the Newcastle United dressing room prior to Keegangate was ‘excellent’.
All the club has to say on the matter is:
THE Premier League Tribunal Panel considering the matter between Newcastle United and Kevin Keegan has today returned its decision.
Click here to view the decision in full.
The Club will be making no comment on this matter.
Thus a contentious and troubling issue is closed at least officially, although whether fans continue to use it as a reason to take sides and clobber each other remains to be seen.
If any potential takeover was waiting on this issue to be resolved it is now free to go ahead.
Link to full tribunal findings: http://www.leaguemanagers.com/news/news-6426.html
NUFCBlog Author: Hugh de Payen
I'm a baby-boomer of the punk rock persuasion, currently exiled in Somerset for crimes committed in a previous life where locals keep trying to poison me with something called 'scrumpy'. Hates sprouts, coat-hangers, Cilla Black, ornaments, Steven Seagull movies and 50 Cent (he's not worth 10).
Hugh de Payen has written 634 articles on this blog.
I am glad kk has won but I think he should have got the £9million,I was also shocked,but not surprised,. to read that ashley and his cronies had deliberately misled the public and press.in other words they have LIED.hopefully the club can now be sold and we can be rid of these liars.