Football: Durrant settles out of court

THE LEGAL action brought by Ian Durrant, the Rangers and Scotland midfielder, against a player who caused him a serious injury has been settled out of court. Durrant, who was 21 when a tackle from Neil Simpson tore both the cruciate ligaments in his right knee during a Scottish Premier Division match at Aberdeen in October 1988, accepted an undisclosed sum, after claiming damages of pounds 2m against Simpson and Aberdeen.

The court action, in which Simpson and Aberdeen denied liability, was due to start yesterday in Edinburgh. Durrant's case for damages was based on claims that he missed substantial bonus payments and sponsorship income as a first-team player with Rangers and also missed Scotland's World Cup campaign of 1990 and last year's European Championship finals.

Durrant, who had won five caps before his injury, resumed his playing career in 1991, after extensive treatment in Britain and the United States. He has since returned to the Scotland team.

Simpson, a former Scottish international who is now with Motherwell, had claimed that both players had been chasing a loose ball, and he had mistimed his manoeuvre to control it. However, Durrant had alleged that the tackle was an 'act of extreme recklessness.' In a similar case in England four years ago, Danny Thomas, the former Tottenham full-back, sued for damages against Gavin Maguire, the Portsmouth defender who was then with Queen's Park Rangers, and received pounds 130,000 in an out-of-court settlement, after suffering a knee injury in a game at White Hart Lane which ended his playing days.

Bryan Robson, the Manchester United and former England midfield player, has said that he does not wish to be considered for the managerial vacancy at Sunderland.

Ken Jones, page 34