COSTLY AFFAIR
++Hearts and Partick relegation case goes to arbitration ++Dundee United, Raith and Cove face a bill of almost £50,000 after failing to have legal action dismissed
DUNDEE UNITED, Raith Rovers and Cove Rangers were last night facing a bill for nearly £50,000 after they failed to have a Hearts and Partick thistle legal action thrown out.
Lord Clark halted a move by Hearts and thistle to cancel relegations and promotions which were imposed when the SPFL season was ended e a r l y, a n d i n s t e a d o r d e r e d t h a t the matter be resolved through independent arbitration.
the outcome of three days of online proceedings at the Court of Session has spared the SPFL a public grilling.
However, the three clubs who stand to be promoted — United, Raith and
Cove — lost their battle to have the case dismissed and Sportsmail has now learned that they face crippling bills of £15,000 each for the hire of QCs and teams of lawyers to fight their case.
And there is a potential for still higher costs to be incurred if arbitration fails and the matter returns to court.
Hearts and thistle went to Scotland’s highest civil court to challenge a vote taken by SPFL clubs to relegate them from the Premiership and Championship respectively.
Advocate David thomson QC said his clients believed the decision was to their ‘extreme’ detriment and they wanted the matter resolved in a public
court. Lord Clark ruled, however, that clubs were bound by SFA articles and SPFL rules to take such cases to arbitration.
The judge agreed to a request from Hearts and Thistle for a recovery of documents from both the league and the three promoted clubs to help prepare their case. The SPFL will now be forced to hand over the contents of an internal Deloitte investigation into the controversial missing Dundee vote which triggered a damaging and expensive chain of events.
Lord Clark said in his ruling: ‘I accept entirely, as Mr Thomson submitted, that the media and the general public have a great interest in this dispute and would prefer to have the issues aired in open court.
‘However, as a matter of law, the parties have agreed to the terms of SFA articles of association and to be bound by them.
‘Accordingly, SPFL and Dundee United, Raith Rovers and Cove Rangers are entitled to invoke the arbitration provisions within these articles of association of the SFA, which will result in the dispute being dealt with by arbitration.’
Hearts and Thistle raised concerns that the arbitration process would ‘inevitably’ delay matters, but Lord Clark accepted assurances that the issue will be settled before the new Scottish Premiership season is due to kick off on August 1.
‘During the hearing, I raised questions about whether the arbitration procedure will be able to determine this matter before August 1,’ he said.
‘While, for obvious reasons, I have not been given any absolute assurances on this matter, senior counsel for the SPFL and for Dundee United, Raith Rovers and Cove Rangers have each submitted that there is no reason to conclude that the matter cannot be dealt with in arbitration before August 1 and, indeed, as I understood it, that their clients are reasonably confident that it can be.’
In a joint statement last night, Hearts and Partick Thistle vowed to continue the fight in a different forum despite losing the right to be heard in a civil court.
The two clubs, who were ordered to pay half of the SPFL’s legal expenses in relation to the court hearing, nonetheless declared themselves pleased to have gained access to a number of documents ‘that will be key to support our case in arbitration’.
And they added: ‘Both clubs are also pleased to have received a fair hearing and feel it important to point to Lord Clark’s words that: “I do not blame the petitioners for not raising proceedings or seeking arbitration whilst that important and potentially crucial alternative (of reconstruction) was available and was actively being facilitated by the SPFL”.
‘We promised our supporters that we would fight for them and we shall continue to do so.’
Arbitration will be handled independently of the SFA, with each party selecting a representative with a legal background to sit on a three-person panel.
The two sides will then agree to a third member drawn from a pool of former judges, sheriffs or advocates.
Last night a spokesman for the SPFL said: ‘We welcome today’s decision at the Court of Session that this case should be dealt with under the Scottish FA’s arbitration process. We will now prepare for the Scottish FA arbitration.’
France and Belgium also called an early halt to their football seasons in the face of the coronavirus crisis and yesterday the Belgian Competition Authority ruled that the relegation of Waasland-Beveren was legal.
Despite the verdict, Belgian club Waasland-Beveren’s chairman Dirk Huyck said they refused to accept the decision, insisting: ‘We will fight until the last breath.
‘We are, of course, disappointed that the conclusion is not what we hoped for.’
Dundee United, Cove Rangers and Raith Rovers last night released a statement following the Court’s decision.
It read: ‘Dundee United, Cove Rangers and Raith Rovers are pleased with and welcome Lord Clark’s decision to refer the dispute, raised by Heart of Midlothian and Partick Thistle, to arbitration.
‘Whilst we remain very disappointed and unhappy at the fact that we have been drawn into this dispute, we will continue to defend our clubs’ interests.
‘The parties will now prepare for arbitration and we very much look forward to an early resolution to allow us to fully focus all of our attention on the new season ahead.’
Meanwhile, sports lawyer David Winnie insists the pressure on the SFA’s independent panel will be suffocating.
The former Hearts defender, now a solicitor with London firm Charles Douglas Solicitors, says those charged with making the decision will be acutely aware of the impact their verdict will have on the game.
‘There is a real burden on the shoulders of the three panel members,’ said Winnie. ‘There is so much riding on this.
‘We are talking about something that will shape Scottish football for years to come and affect livelihoods.
‘If the panel are minded to grant compensation, instead of quashing relegations, where does the money come from? It has massive ramifications.
‘Even reinstatement would be catastrophic for Dundee United and the other promoted sides.’