ICT legal saga with former star ends
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Caley Thistle chairman George Fraser
CALEY Thistle have welcomed the end of a legal saga involving former player Marius Niculae.
The SPL club does not have to pay any compensation to the Romanian striker after the matter was closed by Inverness Sheriff Court.
Niculae joined Inverness in summer 2007 before transferring to Dinamo Bucharest in August 2008 for an Inverness record fee of £400,000.
The 30-year-old claimed £90,000 was owed to him by ICT as a severance payment and tried to sue to club because it denied his claim.
The hearing at which the player was due to appear in Inverness Sheriff Court has been discharged and the matter is now closed.
"We’re extremely pleased to announce final closure on this whole affair," said Caley Thistle chairman George Fraser.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport annulled a ruling in December by football’s world governing body Fifa that Caley Thistle owed Niculae a £130,000 slice of his £400,000 transfer fee to the Romanian side in August 2008.
"It has been a major distraction for almost three years but the outcome of both cases totally vindicates our stance on the matter," Fraser commented.
"We are pleased we will no longer have to defend ourselves in Inverness in relation to a claim for a signing on fee for a second year of a contract which — as we all know — Marius chose not to fulfil.
"We appointed Scotland’s leading sports lawyers Harper Macleod to represent us in both cases and their contribution has been invaluable."
He felt that if Niculae had an agent, the matter would have been resolved quicker.
"The only winners when matters go to court are the lawyers," he added.
"Marius chose to go down this route which left us with no option but to defend ourselves against the unfounded accusations.
"A recognised agent would have very quickly identified the strength of our case and negotiated a sensible conclusion."
Niculae was Caley Thistle’s top scorer in the 2007/08 season with 10 goals and was selected for Romania at Euro 2008.
