Topic: Liverpool, Zeiger and middlesbrough

[Denzil]

Liverpool have today been fined £20,000 for illegally approaching zeiger when he was a middlesbrough player, they are now going to take the matter further and are looking for a further 2.5 million pound as compensation.

Lets hope we stuff them on sat!

[Anthony]

Should make it extra interesting on Saturday...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport/hi/english/football/eng_prem/newsid_1872000/1872311.stm

Liverpool have been fined £20,000 by a Premier League commission after being found guilty of making an illegal approach for Christian Ziege when he was at Middlesbrough.

Boro now plan go to the High Court to seek compensation from Liverpool for poaching the German international.

"We're delighted with the outcome and it's only what we expected," Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson told The Times newspaper.

"We're now looking to take this matter further."

The defender, who was fined £10,000 for his part in the transfer, left Teesside for Anfield two years ago.

Liverpool made a £5.5m bid which exactly matched a get-out clause in Ziege's contract.

Middlesbrough insist they received offers in excess of £8m for Ziege, who is now with Tottenham Hotspur, and had been seeking more than £2.5m in compensation.

My view? Well I don't think anybody's really going to know what actually happened but I do think that if this had been the Mancs, Arsenal or Leeds we'd be effing them from a great height now...

[redtel]

Yeah , they claim that he was worth £8 million so want the difference from the £5.5 we paid. This amount was in his contract as a get out clause which Middbro' now want to ignore.

Also, Zeige got fined £10,000,which probably wont bother him too much on his wages!

No doubt Ince will be putting himself about on Sat. but I fancy us for 3 points.

[Denzil]

lets kick em all of the park!
then beat them in the court room  

[RP4Ireland]

Any news on Emile or Mikey's fitness for Saturday??

[ttnbd]

The thing is Boro have no right to ask for that extra money as I doubt Ged would have bid more than 6mill for him anyway.  and since 6 mill is above the clause amount boro would have no choice but to let him go if Ziege wanted to go.

[Paul Tomkins]

Exactly. Whether we made the illegal approach or not, Ziege's contract stated that he could leave for £5.5m. In effect, Boro set his worth at that price - that's what they were prepared to lose him for. If he was worth £8m, why not put that in the contract instead?

[laddo]

Any news on Emile or Mikey's fitness for Saturday??

heskey will be fit - thommo said so anyway!  

Exactly. Whether we made the illegal approach or not, Ziege's contract stated that he could leave for £5.5m. In effect, Boro set his worth at that price - that's what they were prepared to lose him for. If he was worth £8m, why not put that in the contract instead?

probably because boro would have wanted a higher valuation but ziege wanted lower so they would ave settled for that - contract negoations are about them sort of things arent they??

[ttnbd]

yeah but laddo doesn't a player get a certain percentage of the transfer fee when they move on?

[laddo]

yeah but laddo doesn't a player get a certain percentage of the transfer fee when they move on?

yer good point mate, ziege was a bit strange but surely the money grabbing twat wouldnt miss out on more money for himself?? There must ave been another clause in there!

[Aidan_B]

I believe that if the illegal approach was made then Ziege would have said about the clause and then part of the £2.5m could be used for his signing on fee, and wages.  So he is still the money grabbing twat.

I can see Liverpool losing this case actually.  If they did make an illegal approach, then irrespective of whether Liverpool would have paid more, other clubs are alledged to have offered the £8m.  If this can be proved then I cannot imagine them ruling anything except in favour of Middlesbrough.  IMHO

Lets just hope that we can beat the bitches, on the field success matters more than barristers sucking each other off in crappy court-rooms.

[Paul Tomkins]

Yeah,  but even if Ziege was worth £100m and teams bid £100m, his contract set his value at £5.5m. In Spain players have a buyout clause, such as £35m for the best players, and if someone offers that then that's what they are sold for, not a penny more. This was a similar buyout clause. How could Boro hope to haggle or have an auction when it says in writing the Ziege can leave for £5.5m? Just because LFC found out about the clause, it DOESN'T mean that they approached Ziege and he told them. The clause was known by people in the game, and once LFC found out they only had to offer that amount.

Boro only have themselves to blame for agreeing to such a thing in a contract and then denying it existed, before blaming translators, etc. If you can't even get a player's contract right, what chance do you stand?

[ttnbd]

84Rome how can boro prove this??

The thing is irrespective of what offer boro got if Liverpool offered OVER the clause boro have NO choice but to tell Ziege about the offer so it would have been upto Ziege as to which offer was taken.  If this £8million offer was made by a spanish club and Ziege is the money grabbing twat people think he is then he surely would have taken that offer??

If this £8million offer was made BUT Ziege chose us then boro cannot demand the £8million as there was a clause in his contract saying he could leave for as little as £5.5million.  So all Liverpool need do is the same sort of thing as boro and claim that the most they would have bid was £6million  and then all they would lose is £500,000 at most.  But since Liverpool sold him on for about £4.5million then if it went to a tribunal to determine his value then I reckon it is possible that £5.5 million is enough for him.  (I dunno whether we would get a refund if his valuation by the tribunal is less than £5.5million   )

[mobydick]

Me thinks that Ziege has had a word or two, intentionaly or otherwise, with Didi or Markus.It has been mentioned in the Liverpool dressing room that he wants to get away and one of them probably gave him a call. I don't think it will get to court but if it does, I can also see Liverpool losing.

[ttnbd]

The real reason Boro are pursuing it is because of Rick Parry.

A few years ago Boro were deducted 3 points for refusing to play a game.  Subsequently they were relegated.  At the time Rick was Chief Executive of the FA.

[Aidan_B]

I realise there was a clause in his contract.  But if there was also a confidentiality clause that Ziege broke, or Liverpool FC broke, then I imagine (though I'm not a barrister) that this constitutues a genuine case.  

How could they prove higher offers ?
Presumably offers have to be made in writing rather than just a manager phoning up on a Sunday afternoon.  Although again I don't know for sure.  But if it was made in writing then I can't think of many facts easier to prove.

I'm not saying that Ziege was 'worth' £8m in a footballing sense, but it is all to do with a capitalist market, and players being 'worth' whatever others are willing to pay.  I am also not saying that I want Liverpool to lose, but I think that they might, that's all.