Webster ruling sets transfer landmark
Saturday, 5 May 2007
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Andy Webster, the Scotland defender who unilaterally broke his contract with Heart of Midlothian to move to Wigan last summer yesterday set a landmark precedent for players wanting to "buy" themselves out of clubs after a Fifa ruling that has been described as "the new Bosman".
Webster, 25, who subsequently moved from Wigan to Rangers on loan , and remains at Ibrox with a view to a permanent transfer, will have to pay Hearts £625,000 as compensation. But the key fact in a hugely contentious area of Fifa law is that he was ultimately free to leave at a time of his own choosing, once he had served a set time period on his deal.
Several high-profile England players are in a position now to make similar moves, Frank Lampard foremost among them. The likelihood is that the Chelsea midfielder won't do so, but he could use the threat of such action in ongoing contract negotiations.
Under Article 17 of Fifa's transfer regulations, players who sign contracts when aged under 28 are able to unilaterally break those contracts after three years. If the player is 28 or over, he can break his contract after two years. Compensation is payable, but crucially a player's destiny lies in his own hands. But until Webster's case, no player had ever tested the rule. Yesterday's decision by Fifa enshrines the rule, even if it leaves grey areas over how the compensation figure is reached.
Hearts had wanted £4m for the player. Webster's advisors had believed they would need to pay Hearts only one year's wages or £250,000, the value of the last year of his four year deal. It seems that the £625,000 was calculated based on Webster's Hearts wages, his earning potential and all the legal costs.
Fifa has suspended Webster for the first two weeks of next season for breaking his contract "without just cause", but this punishment is not for moving, per se, but rather for a technical anomaly in the amount of notice that Webster gave Hearts of his departure.
Players wanting to "buy out" of contracts should tell their clubs within 15 days of the end of a season. Webster apparently told Hearts later than necessary, believing a Scottish Cup final was the end instead of Hearts' last league game.
Fifa will investigate the role of Webster's agent, Charlie Duddy, in the breach of contract, but Fifpro, the international players' union, said: "We are delighted that the principle has been set that a player can now, under certain circumstances, cancel his contract."
