United marooned in eye of legal storm By Oliver Kay The Times October 20, 2003
David Gill has been sufficiently involved in the evolution of Manchester United plc into “more than just a football club” to have known that his introduction to the role of chief executive would not be a simple matter of making himself comfortable in Peter Kenyon’s chair. What he could not have imagined was that his first six weeks in the job would see him preoccupied with drugs tests, a public dispute with the FA and High Court injunctions, not to mention the threat of a takeover. On his appointment on September 2, Gill said that his first job would be to establish a working relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson. As it has transpired, most of their exchanges so far have been conducted through Ferguson’s solicitor, who is negotiating his new contract. Solicitors, in fact, have played a prominent role in the workings of United of late, whether over Rio Ferdinand’s failure to take his test and the subsequent fallout with the FA, or the efforts to block a series of unsavoury revelations by a former employee. Ned Kelly, the one-time head of security, had threatened to “lift the lid off Old Trafford” with the serialisation of his forthcoming book, Manchester United: The Untold Story, charting his 12 years working behind the scenes at the club. United succeeded on Saturday in winning an injunction to block the book’s serialisation in a Sunday newspaper, but Gill and his fellow directors will have been fully aware that keeping United off yesterday morning’s front pages would be an impossible challenge. Specifically, the headlines focused on Ferdinand and a series of revelations concerning his mobile telephone bill, which is a central piece of evidence in the FA’s investigation into his failure to attend a drugs test on September 23. Two newspapers reported that he had contacted Dr Patrick O’ Reilly, a consultant urologist, within ten minutes of “forgetting” about the test. Another claimed that he had called a woman who was not his girlfriend. Either way, the publicity was unwelcome. The FA is due to start scrutinising that same bill today as it ponders whether to charge Ferdinand with “wilful failure to attend an anti-doping test”, which would carry the threat of a lengthy suspension. After his earlier lapse of memory, he is said to have contacted Mike Stone, the United club doctor, within half an hour after leaving the training ground on that fateful afternoon, but, even if it decides that his was an innocent mistake, the FA is still expected to charge him with a lesser offence this week. Through the whole episode, Gill has been in regular conversation with Maurice Watkins, the club’s solicitor, in a bid to establish what rights to appeal United would have in the event of a suspension to their £30 million record signing. If, as they fear, Ferdinand is banned, they are prepared to launch legal proceedings against the FA, whether through the international Court of Arbitration for Sport, which is based in Lausanne, Switzerland, or a civil action in this country. In the past week, Gill and his legal team have also had to handle a compensation battle with Sunderland over David Bellion, the young French forward who moved to Old Trafford when his contract expired in the summer. Rather than allow the matter to go to a Football League tribunal, United settled on a deal that could cost them more than £3 million, a figure said to have alarmed Ferguson. He expected Bellion, a 20-year-old with minimal first-team experience, to cost less than £1 million. For good measure, Ferguson is due in the FA dock today to answer charges of misconduct relating to his behaviour during the match against Newcastle United at St James’ Park on August 23. If found guilty, the manager could receive a touchline ban in addition to a fine. Two of his players, Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo, are also awaiting hearings into misconduct charges relating to their involvement in a brawl after last month’s ill-tempered match against Arsenal at Old Trafford. And, as if that were not enough, Gill and his fellow directors have been unsettled by the speed with which certain investors are accumulating shares in United. The 23.15 per cent now held by the Cubic Expression Company — aka the “Coolmore Mafia” of John Magnier and J. P. McManus, the Irish horse racing tycoons — is a source of considerable concern, but so are those of others such as Malcolm Glazer, the owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers American football club. Even without the furore over Ferdinand, these would be anxious times at Old Trafford, with the future of the company so uncertain. Maybe it is just as well that their next assignment on the pitch is away to Rangers, their most eagerly awaited Champions League fixture of the season. More than just a football club they may be, but occasions such as Wednesday serve as a necessary reminder that football is the crux of Manchester United’s business. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at MyInks.com. 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