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Despite occupation, even footballers are employees

Carlos Tevez’s refusal to play in last week’s Manchester City game against Bayern Munich has brought a key issue to the forefront of the entire footballing industry: Who is in charge – a manager or a player?

Mr Tevez refused to play in the Champions League game despite being requested to do so by City boss Roberto Mancini. Mr Tevez was on the bench, had warmed up, and was ready to play. The refusal has infuriated fans, particularly since there was still time for the team to turn around the final 2-0 score, and many blame Mr Tevez personally for City’s loss.

Many fans believe that if footballers don’t play, they don’t get paid. However, professional football players are essentially employees on salary. These salaries typically amount to much more than most UK employees, but the fact remains that football clubs are employers and they are just as susceptible to tribunal claims as any other business in the UK.

Questions are now rising as to whether City can simply terminate Mr Tevez’s contract for his actions.

Steve Cook, Managing Director of leading employment law and HR firm Empire said: “The club can terminate Mr Tevez, but that would risk an expensive tribunal claim. Terminating the contract without following the full disciplinary procedure would probably result in Mr Tevez placing a claim for breach of contract or unfair dismissal and any compensation awarded would be increased by up to 25% simply because the procedure wasn’t followed.”

The safest option for City is, like in all businesses advised by Empire, to follow the procedure, which means suspending the player on full pay pending an investigation. The purpose of the investigation is to establish all of the facts before deciding whether to take formal action. Mr Tevez has been suspended, suggesting that the club has sought legal or HR advice on the best way to resolve this.

Depending on the outcome of the investigation, disciplinary action will follow.

Mr Cook said this means Mr Tevez will have the right to at least 24 hours’ written notice of the disciplinary hearing, and to be accompanied by a colleague of his choice or a trade union official.

Mr Cook said: “These rights may infuriate fans who believe the footballer has behaved unprofessionally and does not deserve to keep his job, but businesses throughout the UK have to go through this process when employees refuse to carry out their jobs, and a football club is no different.”

However, Mr Cook was quick to point out that a dismissal is not always the only, or even the correct outcome.

Mr Cook said: “A good manager needs to consider what will be best for the business in the long term. The fact is that depending on the nature of the work they do, a rebellious streak is not necessarily something to be discouraged. Sometimes it’s the person who creates the most disruption and chaos that actually contributes the most to the future success of the business. It’s well known that Mr Tevez has wanted to leave the club for some time now but the club wouldn’t let him go. It’s getting the balance right that can be a problem. This isn’t a new issue. Managers and employees often disagree, and the vast numbers of tribunal claims are testament to that.”

The issue here is whether a professional footballer can refuse to play, even when directly instructed to do so during an important game. Football fans will undoubtedly say no.

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