Source: FOOTYMAD
Nix For Niculae
Inverness have finally washed themselves of the Marius Niculae transfer affair. Finally Inverness feel they have reached the end of the road over compensation claimed by Marius Niculae. A second court has ruled they do not have to pay compensation to the Romanian after a successful appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in December overturned a FIFA decision. The original decision had found that Niculae was due a portion, reportedly around 30%, of the 450,000 euros transfer fee which Inverness received in return for him moving to Dinamo Bucharest in August, 2008. The player was due to appear in Inverness Sheriff Court for a separate hearing but that has now been discharged and the matter is closed. Inverness chairman George Fraser said: "We're extremely pleased to announce final closure on this whole affair. It has been a major distraction for almost three years but the outcome of both cases totally vindicates our stance on the matter. We are pleased we will no longer have to defend ourselves in Inverness in relation to a claim for a signing-on fee for a second year of a contract which, as we all know, Marius chose not to fulfil. We appointed Scotland's leading sports lawyers Harper Macleod to represent us in both cases and their contribution has been invaluable." Former Sporting Lisbon forward Niculae played the 2007-08 season at Inverness, scoring 10 goals, which won him a recall to the Romanian squad for the 2008 European Championships. Caley argued that the player had been instrumental in his own transfer and had been pictured on the Dinamo website saying he had signed for them while he was still under contract at Inverness. Fraser added: "Football agents are often criticised, but it is my firm belief that if Marius had a registered agent then this matter would have been concluded back in August 2008. The only winners when matters go to court are the lawyers. Marius chose to go down this route which left us with no option but to defend ourselves against the unfounded accusations. A recognised agent would have very quickly identified the strength of our case and negotiated a sensible conclusion."
