As the spin doctors continue to deceive us about proposals for the new multi-sports stadium we now learn that the IFA may have to pay Linfield in the region of £30million to break their 104 year agreement to stage international fixtures at Windsor Park.
This is the valuation the governing body has put on terminating the contract 80 years early. It is now up to the IFA to prove that the contract is not worth that.
In July the IFA sent the Blues a letter giving six months notice, further undermining the processes involved about a future venue. However, last week Linfield served a high court writ in response, so this is where it starts getting messy.
An agreement was signed in 1984 entitling Linfield to 15% of profits from home international games. In recent times this has been close to £500,000 per game. Just what Linfield have been doing with this money is anyone's guess.
The overall share of gate receipts over the next 80 years is estimated to be in the region of £12million with TV revenue estimated at a further £18million with a further £100,000 from advertising.
The court papers also stated that, 'the final figures will be dependent upon figures and documentation provided by the defendant (the Irish FA)'.
The IFA and Linfield entered into the agreement when the North Stand, which is owned by Windsor Avenue and not Windsor Park, was opened in 1984.
Linfield's Trustees have released a statement stating this is the only way the issue can get sorted.
"Following the submission of our writ last week; we have, on the advice of our legal team, followed up with a Statement of Claim, served to the High Court.
" We have no intention or desire to stand in the way of the promotion of football, or sport more widely, in Northern Ireland and we would like to reiterate that we do not believe this is the best or most desirable way of resolving these issues.
"However, we do have a responsibility to ensure that our members' interests are protected at all times and we seek nothing more in this action other than an honourable and fair solution."
Linfield are also attempting to win an injunction to stop the IFA from playing any home international fixtures outside of Windsor Park. Their reply to the writ is expected imminently.
This is all well and good. Firstly, if the IFA are going to hand in notice to Linfield for use of their ground where do they expect us to play next year? Where were the processes that led to this letter of notice? Where was the information about this made publicly available?
Secondly, what the hell have Linfield been doing with all this money? The ground is a dump. Perhaps they could spare a few quid and paint over the No Surrender and UVF graffiti in their filthy bogs. |
