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Newcastle have double standards, says sacked Bond


Scottish Mag
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Sam Allardyce has been dragged into Kevin Bond's £250,000-plus courtroom battle with Newcastle United. Bond is claiming wrongful dismissal after he was dismissed as assistant manager to Glenn Roeder at St James' Park in September 2006 because of what he said to a Panorama documentary investigating corruption in football. But he believes that the subsequent recruitment of Allardyce on a three-year contract shows that Newcastle used his responses to an undercover reporter as a pretext for dismissing him.

 

"Newcastle entered into a three-year contract appointing Mr Sam Allardyce, the principal target of the Panorama programme of September 2006, as its new manager," Bond claims in documents lodged with the high court. "Upon his appointment Mr Allardyce stated that the Panorama programme 'didn't come into the discussions when we were talking over the Newcastle job.' It is averred that [Newcastle] used the Panorama programme as a pretext for dismissing [bond]."

 

Newcastle responded to Bond's contention by saying that Allardyce's role as manager was "irrelevant" to the 50-year-old's sacking. "If it is [bond's] case that the hiring of Mr Allardyce is in some way indicative of a tolerance by [Newcastle] for dishonest behaviour, [Newcastle] will contend ... that the allegations against Mr Allardyce were based purely upon hearsay statements whereas the claimant condemned himself through his own words and conduct," the club stated.

 

It added that Bond "was recorded in his words [in the Panorama programme] agreeing to consider being a part of a dishonest arrangement with third parties which included the receipt of unlawful payments by him".

 

Bond denies ever having sought irregular payments, stating that "the BBC obtained no evidence that [he] had ever received or solicited any corrupt payment in relation to any transfer or otherwise".

 

He believes he is entitled to £253,860.83 "plus unliquidated damages" after losing his £150,000-a-year post as Roeder's assistant. His terms had been topped up with 10% pension contributions, a £1,500-per-game win bonus and a £750 bonus for every draw. There was also a car allowance amounting to £743.83 a month, which is also included in the claim.

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