© EuroFootball.com
According to FIFA's decision, the current Glasgow "Rangers" defender Andy Webster will have to pay his former club Edinburgh "Hearts" 625 thousand pounds for terminating his contract early to join the "Wigan" team. He will also be disqualified from two other season games, while player agent Charles Duddy awaits further investigation.
The FIFA statement states that the dispute resolution section decided that "Mr. Andrew Webster is guilty of terminating his contract early without a serious reason and must pay the "Heart of Midlothian" club 625 thousand pounds".
The "Wigan" club, where A. Webster moved to in August, was declared innocent, and according to the FIFA statement, "the role played by Scottish player agent Mr. Charles Duddy in the contract termination requires further investigation by competent institutions", therefore "this case will be referred for investigation and decision to the player status committee".
However, the global footballers' union FIFpro called the FIFA decision a historic victory for the players, as 25-year-old A. Webster became the first to take advantage of the opportunity to terminate a four-year contract in its third year. Fraser Wishart, head of the Scottish Players' Union, stated that many players may follow this path.
FIFpro's director of public relations, Tony Higgins, was also pleased with the decision: "FIFpro is pleased that the principle has been confirmed that a player can terminate his contract under certain conditions - that is, after three years if he is under 28, and after two years if he is over 28. We are now reviewing the mechanism that was used to determine compensation and the reasons for the payment itself."
At the end of last season, A. Webster used article 17 to terminate his contract with "Hearts", but delayed informing them by four days. The Scottish capital club did not back down and demanded a compensation of 5 million pounds.
In the "Wigan" team, A. Webster played only five matches and was loaned to "Rangers" in January, but did not make his debut due to an injury. It is still unclear who will have to pay the 625 thousand pounds reflecting the player's last year's salary with "Hearts" - whether it will be A. Webster himself, "Wigan", or the "Rangers" club.
