From The Times.........
<<< Watford’s increasingly acrimonious dispute with Everton over Marco Silva could go to a Premier League arbitration panel. The Goodison Park club are refusing to pay compensation to their Premier League rivals and have accused them of having made an illegal approach to the Portuguese coach when he was manager of Hull City last year.
Everton claim to have evidence that Watford sent Silva a draft contract to become their manager when he was still working for Hull, which, if proven, could be a breach of Premier League rules. Watford contend that there was a release clause in Silva’s contract at Hull allowing him to speak to other clubs following their relegation to the Championship last season so are confident of their position.
Watford made a formal complaint to the Premier League last month about Everton’s approach for Silva in November, which they claim destabilised their season and ironically led to his sacking two months later.
At the instigation of the Premier League, the two clubs met for mediation last month, with Everton offering to pay Watford £1 million in compensation, which was rejected. Everton have since withdrawn that offer and have accused Watford of attempting to distract from the fact that, in a separate dispute, the club have yet to pay compensation to Silva, who was sacked with 18 months left on his contract.
Watford’s position is that Silva’s negotiations with Everton constituted a breach of contract.
If the two clubs fail to reach a negotiated settlement, the only recourse for Watford would be to apply to the Premier League to facilitate a formal arbitration process, which would be legally binding. Both clubs would be permitted to nominate an independent legal expert, with the Premier League appointing a QC to chair the three-person panel. >>>