Belgian Fan
06-17-2006, 05:23 AM
Well I can't say enough about this case, it's irritaiting me so much I'm willing to devote a brand new thread to it because this post would be lost in our transfer thread.
The player:
Steven Defour (°15/04/1988) started his career at K.V. Mechelen. He was part of a grand youth setup which was in part created by Franky Vercauteren but was succesfully carried on later. A bunch of elite youths came to Mechelen and they managed to develop a host of very talented players.
At 16 years of age - july 04 -Steven Defour moves from Mechelen to RC Genk. Mechelen had to let him go due to the turmoil the club was in, a host of clubs lined up to take Steven on board (Arsenal, Lens and PSV have been mentioned) but Defour chose to remain in Belgium, opting to go to RC Genk, a club renowed for it's youth work in the last few years.
Defour continues to show his amazing talent at Genk last season, he did very well when showcased in the reserves in 04/05 for instance. He's an attacking midfielder/playmaker/forward type of guy, can score but is mostly known for his passing and vision. Excellent technique, very good workrate as well. The only drawback is his small stature but then again he's still very young.
Coach René Vandereycken gives him a spot in the first team to train with the big boys.
Season 05/06:
He's signed a contract that will run until 2009, quite an investment by the club for a guy who hasn't played yet, quite a comittment by Defour as well.
After an indifferent start by this ambitious club and a few injuries Steven gets to make his debut for the club on 24/09/05, the 8th match of the season. He does very well and gains coach Broos' confidence and remains in the starting lineup for the next few matches.
(Interview from those days for any Dutch speakers out there: http://www.nieuwsblad.be/Article/Detail.aspx?ArticleID=G0EIAJEP )
- key quote: 'like my father always says keeping both feet on the ground is essential. My goal however is to have a first team spot next season and get regular football [at Genk]
Defour's performances immediatly catch the eye of many followers of Belgian football. Barely 17 he's playing with poise and savvy for a player beyond his age. He really played some outstanding football last season, though he (understandably) tailed off a bit towards the end of the season.
Transfer talk
As one would expect these days, after only a couple of matches in the first XI a couple of teams started showing some interest ( Chelsea, PSV and Ajax were surely mentioned).
Interview:
(for Dutch speakers: http://www.sportwereld.be/Uitslagen/Ploeg/index.aspx?competitie=VBCOHKL1BE0506&ploeg=VBCOHKL1BE0506-VB56EVLE-6ENR9Z&dossier=3212&articleID=G5RMK3PS )
-Key quotes: 'I don't want to pass on any steps in my development. I want to reach my ceiling here in Genk first before thinking about moving to another club. I'll stay in Genk for a few years for sure'
From march on he's becoming constantly linked with Ajax. Defour changes his tone and starts saying he has to leave Genk and play for a bigger club.
After the season ended things started turning sour very quickly.
Ajax have talks with Defour and he agrees to a five year deal - subject to Ajax and Genk reaching an agreement over the transfer price obviously.
However Defour's future father in law (Costa Mbisdikis - former pro and youth coach in Genk) doesn't want aything to do with Defour's then advisor Marc Vanlaere who doesn't have a FIFA licence as manager.
Defour then acts and gets himself a new manager, Paul Stefani - with a FIFA license. Once again - but with another manager in Paul Stefani - Defour agrees terms on a five year deal with Ajax.
http://www.sportwereld.be/Uitslagen/Sporter/index.aspx?competitie=VBCOHKL1BE0506&speler=VBCOHKL1BE0506-VB56EVLE-6EWJT6&articleID=GIGRNFH3
This is a big problem however, Paul Stefani, the new manager has some issues with Genk president Jos Vaesen, over a tranfer some 30 years ago (!). Vaesen claims that the new deal brokered with Ajax makes sure Genk will get less and Defour will get more money.
http://www.sportwereld.be/Uitslagen/Sporter/index.aspx?competitie=VBCOHKL1BE0506&speler=VBCOHKL1BE0506-VB56EVLE-6EWJT6&articleID=G4ERLOE8
http://www.sportwereld.be/Uitslagen/Sporter/index.aspx?competitie=VBCOHKL1BE0506&speler=VBCOHKL1BE0506-VB56EVLE-6EWJT6&articleID=GI8RR5FV
Either way, negotiations between Ajax and Genk start of and it quickly becomes clear that they won't reach an agreement: Ajax wants to pay €3M (which is a lot for an 18 year old), Genk wants €6M (which is their valuation of this elite talent).
Defour continues speaking out in the press that he absolutly wants to leave. At some point a little over a week ago both Ajax and Genk realise they won't be able to agree on a fee and the transfer negotiations are cancelled: Steven Defour will not go to Ajax.
Defour is obviously very disappointed and shows that clearly in the papers. There is talk that he could use a legal construction to get out of his contract (running until '09 as mentioned) and so force a tranfer to Ajax.
The 'case' Defour
Defour consulted with his advisors (Manager Paul Stefani and Lawyer Luc Misson - specialist in football contracts) over the question wether or not to use the legal possibilities there are to get out of the contract.
They decide to go ahead with it and blow all bridges: Thursday (or Friday) they filed a complaint at the Labour law court in Genk to get Defour out of his contract.
They have two legal grounds for this.
The first one comes from the Law of 3 july 1978 - general employment law - which states that in the case the emloyer makes a material breach of the employment contract the employee (Mr. Defour in this case) can walk away from the contract. The reasoning is that by asking for an 'illegal transfer price' (sic!!) Genk basically denied Mr. Defour his freedom of employment by keeping him at Genk.
I'm not an employment law specialist but I have to say I think this argument will not be upheld by the court. There is a precedent where Davy De Beule got out of his contract with Lokeren this way, but he had a much better argument: because he refused to sign a new deal he was banished to the reserves, thus the club impeded with his ability to perform his profession - that is not the case here though obviously.
So the succes of this first legal argument is still very much in doubt I must say.
However the second legal ground is much clearer. Under the law of 24-02-1978 - law regarding the employment of professional athletes - every athlete has the right to unilaterally terminate his contract (just as every club has vice versa). In order to do so he'll have to pay a fine to his employer though - which depends on the length and the value of the contract. In Defour's case he would have to come up with around 300.000 - 500.000 Euros according to the newspapers.
Either way, even if the court case gets settled it won't be over. In case of a belgian transfer (which is obviously almost impossible) the Belgian FA would have to be willing to registrate him for his new club - which could lead to another court case.
If he goes to a foreign club, FIFA will have to agree on the transfer. Case in point: Philipphe Mexes got a six week suspension after forcing his way out of Auxerre.
The consequences?
It's not the first time an athletes has used this law regarding professional athletes to force a transfer to another club. Pieter Collen (Gent - Feyenoord), Andres Mendoza (Brugge - Donetsk), Timothy Derijck (Anderlecht - Feyenoord) and a few more have threathened to use it in order to 'force' their clubs into granting them the transfer they want.
Usually the three parties involved (player, club and destination club) then reach a compromise so the transfer can go trough.
However in this case it seems that Defour and his advisors are willing to push the argument all the way. Racing Genk have tried to get back in contact but so far they have refused to discuss a possible compromise. Of course it's still early days. And one has to wonder what will happen in front of the court if they really mean it.
Paul Stefani said in the paper however that "there will be clubs interested now that they know that Defour is free". That says to me that they won't be trying to find a solution with Genk and will indeed push matters and get him out of the contract.
I have no idea if such a thing as an 'illegal transfer fee' exists, I personally don't think it does. Secondly, by blowing up all bridges Defour seems to be certain to have a club to back him up in case the Court would force him to pay a hefty fee to racing Genk as part of the settlement. However Ajax have already filled up two spaces on their midfield with Gabri and Roger. Maybe they have an alternative?
And obviously there's the long term consequence: would any club be willing to pay a fee for a Belgian player if he wins his case in court? What's the use of paying Millions for a player when you could get him for half a million via a court case? Of course not every player will be so manipulated / forced to get his freedom via this route.
Amidst all this turmoil the President of Racing Genk has decided to resign from his function, citing the Defour Saga as one of the main reasons for his resigning.
In the press things are slowly turning ugly as Defour is blamed for this mess. Every fan seems to have decided that Defour is a respectless spoiled brat who deserves not to find a club for the next five years...
This is clearly a lot to take for an 18 year old who was basically unkown this time last year. I wonderhow he's going to handle all this stuff being thrown at him.
For those who've read through this little story it may be clear that this is not the end of it.
The player:
Steven Defour (°15/04/1988) started his career at K.V. Mechelen. He was part of a grand youth setup which was in part created by Franky Vercauteren but was succesfully carried on later. A bunch of elite youths came to Mechelen and they managed to develop a host of very talented players.
At 16 years of age - july 04 -Steven Defour moves from Mechelen to RC Genk. Mechelen had to let him go due to the turmoil the club was in, a host of clubs lined up to take Steven on board (Arsenal, Lens and PSV have been mentioned) but Defour chose to remain in Belgium, opting to go to RC Genk, a club renowed for it's youth work in the last few years.
Defour continues to show his amazing talent at Genk last season, he did very well when showcased in the reserves in 04/05 for instance. He's an attacking midfielder/playmaker/forward type of guy, can score but is mostly known for his passing and vision. Excellent technique, very good workrate as well. The only drawback is his small stature but then again he's still very young.
Coach René Vandereycken gives him a spot in the first team to train with the big boys.
Season 05/06:
He's signed a contract that will run until 2009, quite an investment by the club for a guy who hasn't played yet, quite a comittment by Defour as well.
After an indifferent start by this ambitious club and a few injuries Steven gets to make his debut for the club on 24/09/05, the 8th match of the season. He does very well and gains coach Broos' confidence and remains in the starting lineup for the next few matches.
(Interview from those days for any Dutch speakers out there: http://www.nieuwsblad.be/Article/Detail.aspx?ArticleID=G0EIAJEP )
- key quote: 'like my father always says keeping both feet on the ground is essential. My goal however is to have a first team spot next season and get regular football [at Genk]
Defour's performances immediatly catch the eye of many followers of Belgian football. Barely 17 he's playing with poise and savvy for a player beyond his age. He really played some outstanding football last season, though he (understandably) tailed off a bit towards the end of the season.
Transfer talk
As one would expect these days, after only a couple of matches in the first XI a couple of teams started showing some interest ( Chelsea, PSV and Ajax were surely mentioned).
Interview:
(for Dutch speakers: http://www.sportwereld.be/Uitslagen/Ploeg/index.aspx?competitie=VBCOHKL1BE0506&ploeg=VBCOHKL1BE0506-VB56EVLE-6ENR9Z&dossier=3212&articleID=G5RMK3PS )
-Key quotes: 'I don't want to pass on any steps in my development. I want to reach my ceiling here in Genk first before thinking about moving to another club. I'll stay in Genk for a few years for sure'
From march on he's becoming constantly linked with Ajax. Defour changes his tone and starts saying he has to leave Genk and play for a bigger club.
After the season ended things started turning sour very quickly.
Ajax have talks with Defour and he agrees to a five year deal - subject to Ajax and Genk reaching an agreement over the transfer price obviously.
However Defour's future father in law (Costa Mbisdikis - former pro and youth coach in Genk) doesn't want aything to do with Defour's then advisor Marc Vanlaere who doesn't have a FIFA licence as manager.
Defour then acts and gets himself a new manager, Paul Stefani - with a FIFA license. Once again - but with another manager in Paul Stefani - Defour agrees terms on a five year deal with Ajax.
http://www.sportwereld.be/Uitslagen/Sporter/index.aspx?competitie=VBCOHKL1BE0506&speler=VBCOHKL1BE0506-VB56EVLE-6EWJT6&articleID=GIGRNFH3
This is a big problem however, Paul Stefani, the new manager has some issues with Genk president Jos Vaesen, over a tranfer some 30 years ago (!). Vaesen claims that the new deal brokered with Ajax makes sure Genk will get less and Defour will get more money.
http://www.sportwereld.be/Uitslagen/Sporter/index.aspx?competitie=VBCOHKL1BE0506&speler=VBCOHKL1BE0506-VB56EVLE-6EWJT6&articleID=G4ERLOE8
http://www.sportwereld.be/Uitslagen/Sporter/index.aspx?competitie=VBCOHKL1BE0506&speler=VBCOHKL1BE0506-VB56EVLE-6EWJT6&articleID=GI8RR5FV
Either way, negotiations between Ajax and Genk start of and it quickly becomes clear that they won't reach an agreement: Ajax wants to pay €3M (which is a lot for an 18 year old), Genk wants €6M (which is their valuation of this elite talent).
Defour continues speaking out in the press that he absolutly wants to leave. At some point a little over a week ago both Ajax and Genk realise they won't be able to agree on a fee and the transfer negotiations are cancelled: Steven Defour will not go to Ajax.
Defour is obviously very disappointed and shows that clearly in the papers. There is talk that he could use a legal construction to get out of his contract (running until '09 as mentioned) and so force a tranfer to Ajax.
The 'case' Defour
Defour consulted with his advisors (Manager Paul Stefani and Lawyer Luc Misson - specialist in football contracts) over the question wether or not to use the legal possibilities there are to get out of the contract.
They decide to go ahead with it and blow all bridges: Thursday (or Friday) they filed a complaint at the Labour law court in Genk to get Defour out of his contract.
They have two legal grounds for this.
The first one comes from the Law of 3 july 1978 - general employment law - which states that in the case the emloyer makes a material breach of the employment contract the employee (Mr. Defour in this case) can walk away from the contract. The reasoning is that by asking for an 'illegal transfer price' (sic!!) Genk basically denied Mr. Defour his freedom of employment by keeping him at Genk.
I'm not an employment law specialist but I have to say I think this argument will not be upheld by the court. There is a precedent where Davy De Beule got out of his contract with Lokeren this way, but he had a much better argument: because he refused to sign a new deal he was banished to the reserves, thus the club impeded with his ability to perform his profession - that is not the case here though obviously.
So the succes of this first legal argument is still very much in doubt I must say.
However the second legal ground is much clearer. Under the law of 24-02-1978 - law regarding the employment of professional athletes - every athlete has the right to unilaterally terminate his contract (just as every club has vice versa). In order to do so he'll have to pay a fine to his employer though - which depends on the length and the value of the contract. In Defour's case he would have to come up with around 300.000 - 500.000 Euros according to the newspapers.
Either way, even if the court case gets settled it won't be over. In case of a belgian transfer (which is obviously almost impossible) the Belgian FA would have to be willing to registrate him for his new club - which could lead to another court case.
If he goes to a foreign club, FIFA will have to agree on the transfer. Case in point: Philipphe Mexes got a six week suspension after forcing his way out of Auxerre.
The consequences?
It's not the first time an athletes has used this law regarding professional athletes to force a transfer to another club. Pieter Collen (Gent - Feyenoord), Andres Mendoza (Brugge - Donetsk), Timothy Derijck (Anderlecht - Feyenoord) and a few more have threathened to use it in order to 'force' their clubs into granting them the transfer they want.
Usually the three parties involved (player, club and destination club) then reach a compromise so the transfer can go trough.
However in this case it seems that Defour and his advisors are willing to push the argument all the way. Racing Genk have tried to get back in contact but so far they have refused to discuss a possible compromise. Of course it's still early days. And one has to wonder what will happen in front of the court if they really mean it.
Paul Stefani said in the paper however that "there will be clubs interested now that they know that Defour is free". That says to me that they won't be trying to find a solution with Genk and will indeed push matters and get him out of the contract.
I have no idea if such a thing as an 'illegal transfer fee' exists, I personally don't think it does. Secondly, by blowing up all bridges Defour seems to be certain to have a club to back him up in case the Court would force him to pay a hefty fee to racing Genk as part of the settlement. However Ajax have already filled up two spaces on their midfield with Gabri and Roger. Maybe they have an alternative?
And obviously there's the long term consequence: would any club be willing to pay a fee for a Belgian player if he wins his case in court? What's the use of paying Millions for a player when you could get him for half a million via a court case? Of course not every player will be so manipulated / forced to get his freedom via this route.
Amidst all this turmoil the President of Racing Genk has decided to resign from his function, citing the Defour Saga as one of the main reasons for his resigning.
In the press things are slowly turning ugly as Defour is blamed for this mess. Every fan seems to have decided that Defour is a respectless spoiled brat who deserves not to find a club for the next five years...
This is clearly a lot to take for an 18 year old who was basically unkown this time last year. I wonderhow he's going to handle all this stuff being thrown at him.
For those who've read through this little story it may be clear that this is not the end of it.