| Chairman Welcomes FA Vindication | ||||
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 ST ALBANS CITY chairman Ian Ridley has welcomed the Football Association verdict on Inih Effiong’s move to Boreham Wood as “a vindication for our determination to achieve justice.”Effiong exercised his right to refuse re-engagement terms in the summer and initially asked the club to allow him to go to Farnborough, with whom he had been training for two weeks. The club duly agreed a fee with the Conference South outfit, under FA regulations that compensation must be paid for a re-registered player under the age of 24 who wishes to join another club. The player then changed his mind, however, and opted to sign for Boreham Wood, who initially contested whether the player had been correctly re-registered at Clarence Park. After an FA ruling that Effiong had indeed been registered properly by Saints general manager Steve Eames, negotiations between City and Boreham Wood failed to reach agreement on the player’s worth, leading to Monday’s FA tribunal, which issued the following adjudication to determine compensation for the transfer: “Boreham Wood FC must pay a compensation fee of £1,500 plus VAT to St Albans City FC within 14 days on receipt of an invoice. “There is a sell-on fee of 20 per cent payable to St Albans City FC on the net profit of any permanent transfer or compensation fee received by Boreham Wood FC within 14 days of being received. “The decision is final and binding on all parties.”  Said Ridley (pictured right): “This has been a protracted and at times unpleasant episode with some unnecessary and intemperate personal remarks made about me publicly by the other party.“I am big enough to take that but I was not prepared to put up with people within our club being impugned when they had always acted with integrity. “Perhaps it was all designed to detract from the weakness of Boreham Wood’s case or perhaps it came as a surprise to find a St Albans City chairman who was not a pushover. “Whatever went on – and I am satisfied that we at St Albans always acted professionally without making things personal - I am glad for all parties that it is over and that the FA have delivered a verdict that is a vindication for our determination to achieve justice. “Once Boreham Wood had been forced by the FA to enter into negotiations, we felt we reluctantly had to go to a tribunal since their offers first of £400 then eventually raised to £500 were not credible. “That we have been awarded three times that final offer shows that the FA agreed and also illustrated both how much they also believed St Albans City’s version of events and how much the club had done to develop Inih as a player in his two spells at the club, notably last season when he scored 15 goals in the Conference South.” Ridley added that his sympathy lay with the player caught up in the proceedings, and revealed that Boreham Wood had recently sought to return the player to Clarence Park. “It is Inih I feel sorry for in all this,” the chairman said. “He has gone to Boreham Wood and sadly appears to have declined from the regular Conference South starter and scorer he was for Saints, now finding himself on loan at Concord Rangers. “He was even offered back to us on loan or on a permanent deal 10 days before the tribunal but there was a point of principle involved which we had to follow through and could not consider such an arrangement at that time. “I just hope Inih is able to get his career back on track as his record at St Albans City showed him to be a talented player.” ENDS |
| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 23 November 2011 20:25 ) |
