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Dispute resolution in Premier League manager move?

Published on 8 Jan 2010 under category: legal

Lawyers representing Burnley and Bolton football clubs are likely to be locked in dispute resolution meetings following manager Owen Coyle's move across Lancashire.

This is the suggestion of football pundit Gabriele Marcotti, who wrote for the Times' The Game supplement that Mr Coyle was "approached some time" before previous Bolton manager Gary Megson was sacked on December 30th.

"Allowing managers to move from one club to another in the course of the same season can give off an appearance of impropriety and affect the integrity of a league," Mr Marcotti wrote.

"Simply put, it should not be allowed."

The football expert went on to discuss another point of legal contention in the football world - Fifa's Article 17, which allows players the right to buy out the remainder of their contracts and move to a club of their choosing.

"The compensation is set by Fifa's Dispute Resolution Chamber, but, idiotically, the criteria for what that compensation should be are incredibly vague," he explained.

Owen Coyle played for Bolton between 1993 and 1995, helping them to promotion to the Premier League.

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