Tottenham Hotspur are subject to potential legal action over the signing of a player on a free transfer last summer.
In July last year, Spurs signed Manor Solomon from Shakhtar Donetsk as a free agent under a FIFA ruling allowing foreign players in Russia and Ukraine to unilaterally suspend their contracts amid the conflict in the region.
Taking advantage of FIFA’s directive, the Lilywhites capitalized on the opportunity to acquire the promising left-winger at no cost.
However, Shakhtar’s chief executive, Sergei Palkin, has criticized Tottenham for their “disrespectful” offer during negotiations for Manor Solomon, describing it as mere “peanuts.”
He threatened to take legal action against Spurs if a resolution is not reached promptly.
Shakhtar, among other clubs, contested the ruling permitting their foreign players to depart, but their appeals were rejected by FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Now, they are pursuing legal action against specific clubs that took advantage of the ruling to acquire their players.
Shakhtar believes they have been deprived of a potential transfer fee, given Solomon’s current market value of €15 million, and are demanding compensation for the loss.
In an interview with ESPN, Sergei Palkin, the club’s general director, stated:
“Since October, we have been diligently engaged in negotiations with Tottenham.
“But finally Tottenham has not acted in a manner that reflects the principles of fairness and equity. In this situation, we feel a sense of disrespect from Tottenham.
“If you go deeply in my feelings during these months we have negotiated. Actually, we would like to appeal to Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to act in good faith and uphold the shared values of the European football family to find a fair way to compensate us in this transfer, what we are talking about.”
Negotiations between the clubs included Levy offering to pay 10% of any future sell-on fee for Solomon, which Palkin deemed insufficient, referring to it as “peanuts” for a club like Tottenham. He stated:
“They offered something but it is not even serious what they offered.
“It is something like peanuts to show they are ready to give something but this is not comparable with what they received.
“A club like Tottenham cannot behave like this. It is a top, well-known worldwide club and to behave like they are doing is very strange.”
The outcome of Shakhtar’s appeal remains uncertain, while Tottenham has yet to reap the benefits of the deal due to Solomon’s sidelining since last October with a meniscus injury, causing him to miss 24 games for the club.
