QUOTE
Bitter Wenger to sue Hleb
Saturday 10 May, 2008
After slamming Mathieu Flamini’s move to Milan, bitter Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger warns he’ll take Alexandre Hleb to court rather than let him join Inter.
The Belarus midfielder has been repeatedly linked with a move to San Siro and agent Nikolai Shpilevski commented on Friday that the £11.5m signing from Stuttgart in 2005 was “leaving Arsenal.â€
Although the Nerazzurri have consistently denied making any illegal approach for Hleb, Wenger is on the warpath, even if the midfielder tries to buy out the last two years of his contract under Article 17, the so-called Webster Clause.
"It is not as simple as it looks, this Webster clause, you can't just come in next day and buy out, there is no rule that says that. And you should not forget what clubs can do," said Wenger.
"You have to first go to a FIFA tribunal and if you don't agree with FIFA, you have to go to ACAS. It takes a lot of months. You can be banned for the whole period if it's not done in a proper way."
The French Coach has already threatened to report Inter to FIFA for “disrespectful and illegal†courting of Hleb, although the Italians released several statements denying any approach.
It would be another bitter blow after Flamini penned a massively improved contract with Milan this week on a free transfer.
"I know the rules in this job, the guy is free, he can go to somebody who pays him more," continued an infuriated Wenger.
"But he said he wanted to stay. If you say, 'no I want to go somewhere' that is OK. But you cannot say, 'I want to stay, but I go.'
"This club here has a history of being built by people of values. I'm not sure that in the history of Milan you'll find the same values, even if you dig well."
Milan are expected to retaliate with a statement of their own, as they do not take kindly to comments on their part in the Calciopoli scandal.
The club has always maintained its innocence in that affair, even though they were docked eight points from last year’s Serie A standings and stripped of a spot in the Champions League – albeit qualifying via a preliminary round.
channel4
Saturday 10 May, 2008
After slamming Mathieu Flamini’s move to Milan, bitter Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger warns he’ll take Alexandre Hleb to court rather than let him join Inter.
The Belarus midfielder has been repeatedly linked with a move to San Siro and agent Nikolai Shpilevski commented on Friday that the £11.5m signing from Stuttgart in 2005 was “leaving Arsenal.â€
Although the Nerazzurri have consistently denied making any illegal approach for Hleb, Wenger is on the warpath, even if the midfielder tries to buy out the last two years of his contract under Article 17, the so-called Webster Clause.
"It is not as simple as it looks, this Webster clause, you can't just come in next day and buy out, there is no rule that says that. And you should not forget what clubs can do," said Wenger.
"You have to first go to a FIFA tribunal and if you don't agree with FIFA, you have to go to ACAS. It takes a lot of months. You can be banned for the whole period if it's not done in a proper way."
The French Coach has already threatened to report Inter to FIFA for “disrespectful and illegal†courting of Hleb, although the Italians released several statements denying any approach.
It would be another bitter blow after Flamini penned a massively improved contract with Milan this week on a free transfer.
"I know the rules in this job, the guy is free, he can go to somebody who pays him more," continued an infuriated Wenger.
"But he said he wanted to stay. If you say, 'no I want to go somewhere' that is OK. But you cannot say, 'I want to stay, but I go.'
"This club here has a history of being built by people of values. I'm not sure that in the history of Milan you'll find the same values, even if you dig well."
Milan are expected to retaliate with a statement of their own, as they do not take kindly to comments on their part in the Calciopoli scandal.
The club has always maintained its innocence in that affair, even though they were docked eight points from last year’s Serie A standings and stripped of a spot in the Champions League – albeit qualifying via a preliminary round.
channel4
Wenger is now off the list of people I respect... I'm not going to comment further on this bullshit!