(Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)
It could be a pub quiz question. Name the sportsman: He is a footballer. Born in 1964. Played in Belgium, France and the Indian Ocean island of Reunion. Oh, and he just happened to be the player at the centre of the most fundamental ruling in the history of football transfers. I know this one! Jean-Marc Bosman.
The "Bosman ruling," as it has come to be known, was a decision made in 1995 by the European Court of Justice concerning one of the fundamental principles of labour laws in the European Union (EU). It prohibited the restriction of EU nationals from moving freely between football clubs at the end of the contracts.
Indulge me for a moment—but do you remember Quantum Leap where Dr. Sam Beckett (played by Scott Bakula) played a time traveller jumping from one body to another "putting right what once went wrong?" So, let's jump forward a decade or so to the 21st century.
Name the sportsman: He is a footballer. Born in 1984. Played in Argentina and England. Oh, just happened to be the player at the centre of one of the most bizarre transfer-related stories football has seen. Step forward Carlos Tevez.
In August 2006, Tevez, moved to West Ham United under a cloud of confusion. He signed with West Ham and was paraded in front of the Upton Park crowd, but it appeared his player registration was owned by Media Sports Investments (MSI)—the legacy of a deal done between Corinthians (Tevez's previous club) and MSI.
The 2006-2007 EPL season played itself out against the backdrop of legal proceedings which led to West Ham United being fined £5.5 million for breaching EPL rules over his signing (and that of Tevez's fellow Argentine, Javier Mascherano).
Changes to legal and third party agreements were made after which opened the door for Tevez to appear for West Ham in the run-in.
Tevez played a big part in West Ham avoiding relegation from the EPL that season—even scoring the only goal in their final match of the season at Manchester United, leading to the relegation of Sheffield United instead.
It has been readily accepted that West Ham should have had points deducted instead of receiving a fine—so Tevez's spectacular contribution should represent no more than a footnote in the history books of West Ham's relegation that season.
The EPL ducked their responsibility when it came to the points deduction—it has been suggested that the EPL reckoned West Ham's league position was always perilous, so a points deduction would have made little difference to their relegation battle anyway.
Tevez moved to Manchester United in the summer, but there had already been rumblings of discontent bubbling at Sheffield United. Yet, another legal battle ensued with Sheffield United failing to be re-instated to the EPL.
Sheffield United then moved for a financial settlement which was settled out-of-court in their favour—to the tune of £20 million over a five-year period.
Phew. It's over. But no, the case which led to Sheffield United's out-of-court settlement has set a dangerous precedent.
Former Sheffield United manager has publicly stated he and his advisors are exploring the possibility of suing West Ham over lost earnings and losing the status of being an EPL manager.
Similar lawsuits are being considered by a number of Sheffield United players.
2 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete