Sheffield Wednesday could seek to apply for sporting sanctions against Newcastle United, according to sports lawyer Gregory Ioannidis.
The Magpies announced that Bruce would be taking over as manager on Tyneside on Wednesday, but the move was met with a statement from the 58-year-old’s former club, Sheffield Wednesday, as reported by the Chronicle.
The statement suggested that there were still legal matters to be resolved between the two clubs and Bruce, and that the Championship side were seeking advice on their position.
And writing on his personal Twitter account, as cited by the Chronicle (16.18), Ioannidis outlined what that may entail.
He said: “Sheffield Wednesday theoretically have a remedial avenue through an action for compensation (breach via early termination).
“If they wish to make things more difficult, they could potentially apply for sporting sanctions too.”
OPINION
This doesn’t sound good for Newcastle United. There’s no guarantee that Wednesday’s disgruntlement will lead to anything sinister for the Magpies, but it sounds as if that could happen as a worse case scenario. The issue is that a lot of what has gone on to bring Bruce to Tyneside has happened behind closed doors, and so it is hard to really fathom how legitimate the Championship side’s anger is. If it is bad as they claim, and if Ioannidis is to be believed, then “sporting sanctions” certainly don’t sound promising. A fine is one thing, but a points deduction, for instance, would be a massive blow for the Toon Army. You would be inclined to believed that they might be involved in some kind of relegation battle anyway this season, and the last thing the club needs is any kind of unforeseen disadvantages in that fight.
