By Mark Baber
May 6 – David O’Leary has won a $5.2m claim before the FIFA Players’ Status Committee, following his dismissal by Dubai club Al Ahli FC in 2011. The sum represents the full amount due under his contract.
O’Leary, a former Arsenal and Republic of Ireland captain, and ex-Manager of Leeds United and Aston Villa, was dismissed one year into a three-year fixed term contract.
The Player’s Status Committee rejected the club’s claim that O’Leary had abandoned his job, a claim which had been undermined by club officials who, at the time, told the media he had been dismissed. They also rejected the club’s claim that FIFA lacked jurisdiction in the case.
O’Leary, who was backed by the League Managers Association (LMA), said: “It has taken a long time to deal with this matter but I am pleased that all issues have now been finalised. I would also like to thank Richard Bevan and the LMA as well as my outstanding legal team, led by Paul Gilroy QC, and Michael Kennedy from Herbert Reeves & Co, for their support and hard work in bringing my case to this very satisfactory conclusion.
“I hope my case provides reassurance to all managers and coaches working all over the world that there is a formal system in place that provides employment protection.”
Richard Bevan, chief executive of the LMA said: “We are clearly delighted with the outcome. In addition, the LMA is extremely grateful to The FA for their assistance in initiating the process with FIFA. The added significance and wider impact of this process is the proof that FIFA has mechanisms in place which regulate worldwide employment issues.”
The case underlines that contracts between managers and clubs are enforceable internationally. It is a false assumption “that football management is a unique field of employment which does not easily lend itself to regulation by normal principles of employment law. In fact, Courts and Employment Tribunals, particularly the latter, deal on a daily basis with disputes emanating from workplaces as diverse as the board room and the local corner shop,” said Gilroy.
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