Legal battle looms between Sharks and Lions
Posted by Morné - 20/01/10 at 07:01 am under Rugby Administration, Rugby Personalities, Super 14The ongoing stand-off between the Sharks and Lions over the services of Willem Alberts and Louis Ludik may well become a legal hot potato for the Sharks.
Jan de Koning – Rugby365
This follows after Christo Ferreira, the General Manager Legal Affairs at the South African Rugby Union, confirmed to rugby365.com that SARU will not get involved in the dispute.
It has been reported that the Sharks are planning to play the two new recruits from the Lions, Alberts and Ludik, despite the contractual wrangle over clearance certificates which are not forthcoming from the Lions.
According to reports the pair are expected to take part in the upcoming pre-season tri-series – involving the Sharks, Western Force and Stormers – in Cape Town next week, despite the Golden Lions Rugby Union digging their heels in and refusing to issue clearance certificates.
The Sharks management, with lawyer Frikkie Erasmus acting on their behalf, remain adamant that the pair don’t have legal and binding contracts with the GLRU and, having already joined the Durban-based franchise, are allowed to play for them.
According to Erasmus, and the Sharks, the situation is similar to the one which saw Springbok Jaque Fourie move to the Stormers from the Lions – when Erasmus managed to win an arbitration case against the Lions.
However, Lions Chief Executive Manie Reynecke is disputing the claim that this is similar.
And to further complicate matters SARU also refused to come to the aid of the Sharks, with Ferreira confirming that the players are not allowed to play for the Sharks until such time as clearance certificates have been issued.
“I have written back to them [the Sharks and Erasmus] to inform them that we [SARU] are not going to entertain this case,” Ferreira told rugby365.com on Tuesday.
“They will have to follow another avenue – arbitration or the courts – but we are not going to get involved.”
Ferreira also confirmed that the Sharks may not play the two players, as that would be in breach of SARU regulations, although there is a grey area that allows them to train with the Sharks.
“The regulations make clear reference to them not being allowed to ‘play’ in any match – including pre-season fixtures and tournaments outside the formal structures,” Ferreira said.
“In my view, because there is a dispute over the validity of the contract the two players have with the Lions, they are not allowed to play till such time as the two parties [Sharks and Lions] have come to a legal agreement.”
The Sharks, who say they are already paying the players’ salaries and that all that is outstanding is the letter of clearance from the Lions, will now have to decide if they want to risk getting on the wrong side of SARU’s regulations or leave the two players on the sidelines till the matter is finally resolved.
The Lions CEO, Reynecke, insists that the contracts they have with Ludik and Alberts are legal and binding.
“Those contracts are enforceable,” Reynecke told rugby365.com.
“Either they [the Sharks] must have our contracts declared null and void or the players must return to us. They should be training with us, not the Sharks,” he insisted.
The Lions CEO said it is now up to the Sharks to contact him to come to some agreement, if they want to have the two players released from their contracts – hinting that a hefty ‘transfer fee’ may be on the table.
Reynecke also insisted that these contracts are not the same as that which saw the Lions lose the Jaque Fourie arbitration case.
“Every contract is different, with each player having his own terms and conditions. That payment loophole that existed in Jaque’s contract is not here, as we have already started negotiations with these players about future payments.
“At the end of the day the people who suffer the most in these disputes are the players,” Reynecke added.
Erasmus told rugby365.com that he will first have to read Ferreira’s reply, before he can comment further, but said he does not agree with SARU’s interpretation that the regulations forbid the duo from playing.
“I will have to wait for instructions from the Sharks, after I have seen SARU’s response, and then make a call on how we proceed,” Erasmus said.
He repeated an earlier statement that the contracts of Ludik and Alberts are the same as that of Fourie.
“Right up to the comma, it is the same,” Erasmus said.
January 20th, 2010 at 8:36 am
Suurgat Lions.
January 20th, 2010 at 9:24 am
“This follows after Christo Ferreira, the General Manager Legal Affairs at the South African Rugby Union, confirmed to rugby365.com that SARU will not get involved in the dispute.”
Christo Ferreira moet die meer onbevoegde ou in die SARU kantore wees – en glo my – “That takes some doing!!”
January 20th, 2010 at 9:55 am
Reply to PietPloos @ 9:24 am:
Yeah…
I mean this dispute comes back to regulations SARU has in place (for whom Ferreira is the legal representative) wrt the certificates.
Yet, they won’t get involved.
Fuck me how incompetent can one get?
January 20th, 2010 at 10:00 am
Reply to Morné @ 9:55 am:
Because the Super 14 is not a competition under their regulations. Under the SANZAR regulations, players can play for other franchises. That is how the draft system works in NZ.
January 20th, 2010 at 10:04 am
Reply to Deon @ 10:00 am:
Ferreira also confirmed that the Sharks may not play the two players, as that would be in breach of SARU regulations, although there is a grey area that allows them to train with the Sharks.
“The regulations make clear reference to them not being allowed to ‘play’ in any match – including pre-season fixtures and tournaments outside the formal structures,” Ferreira said.
January 20th, 2010 at 10:06 am
Reply to Deon @ 10:00 am:
“Ferreira also confirmed that the Sharks may not play the two players, as that would be in breach of SARU regulations”
—————————————–
Players in SA firstly falls under the SARFU regulations and then under the competitions rules. If SARFU regulations stipulate one thing and the competition another, you follow the Home Unions rules.
January 20th, 2010 at 10:09 am
I read a report where it was stated that they can. Will try to find it
January 20th, 2010 at 10:21 am
Reply to Deon @ 10:09 am: That is the statement from the lawyer, and lawyers you can not trust.
January 20th, 2010 at 11:01 am
Reply to Jacques(Bunny) @ 10:21 am:
and lawyers you can not trust.
January 20th, 2010 at 11:13 am
Reply to The Brand @ 11:01 am:
January 20th, 2010 at 11:19 am
The Sharks management, with lawyer Frikkie Erasmus acting on their behalf, remain adamant that the pair don’t have legal and binding contracts with the GLRU and, having already joined the Durban-based franchise, are allowed to play for them.
Geez surely this character is in breach of some sort of conflict of interest codes?
He has represented SARU, the SA Players Union, WP, Stormers, Sharks, individual players you name it…
He’s like a yellow pistule that won’t go away…
The fact that there can be such wrangles over contracts tells me that the standard SARU / SARPA player contract (including the arbitration one with Jacques Fourie) are not up too scratch and it is highly prejudicial that the Lions should suffer for this…
In fact SARU SHOULD start laying down damn ethics rules about contracting players and perhaps banish this mercenary Frikkie Erasmus to somewhere that lawyers are welcome…
Like a Hatian prison cell
January 22nd, 2010 at 9:17 pm
They shouldn’t get involved.Point.
as far as their statements which appear in
this article,i find their decision,mature
and sound.
The Sharks and the Lions need to sort
their shit out
without running to the union
to pick a side
and cost.
Both are succesfull Clubs,
both have a certain point.
Thats what laywers,courts,contracts
agents and the professional game
is all about.
Both have a point.
Go to court.
Put up or shut up
and get on with it.
south africa is not in a dictatorship
yet,
where clubs don’t run their business yet
but expect saru to hop
everytime they cannot think
before signing
moving,
playing
or just behaving like two brats.
In fact,SARU should fine both clubs
for contractual miss-management
and have the clubs pay the players
for wasting their time.
The players should have a word with
their agents
for getting involved in this mess.
This bullshit is typical,unprofessional
south african behaviour.
IT riducules our whole
integrity
as a professional rugby nation.
The tvl and natal management structure
allowing such a situation to develop.
Nog n boepens poepol met brannewyn
whose ambition exceeds his ability.