Tottenham Hotspur are subject to potential legal action over the signing of a player on a free transfer last summer.
In July last year, Spurs signed Manor Solomon from Shakhtar Donetsk as a free agent under a FIFA ruling allowing foreign players in Russia and Ukraine to unilaterally suspend their contracts amid the conflict in the region.
Taking advantage of FIFA’s directive, the Lilywhites capitalized on the opportunity to acquire the promising left-winger at no cost.
However, Shakhtar’s chief executive, Sergei Palkin, has criticized Tottenham for their “disrespectful” offer during negotiations for Manor Solomon, describing it as mere “peanuts.”
He threatened to take legal action against Spurs if a resolution is not reached promptly.
Shakhtar, among other clubs, contested the ruling permitting their foreign players to depart, but their appeals were rejected by FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Now, they are pursuing legal action against specific clubs that took advantage of the ruling to acquire their players.
Shakhtar believes they have been deprived of a potential transfer fee, given Solomon’s current market value of €15 million, and are demanding compensation for the loss.
In an interview with ESPN, Sergei Palkin, the club’s general director, stated:
“Since October, we have been diligently engaged in negotiations with Tottenham.
“But finally Tottenham has not acted in a manner that reflects the principles of fairness and equity. In this situation, we feel a sense of disrespect from Tottenham.
“If you go deeply in my feelings during these months we have negotiated. Actually, we would like to appeal to Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to act in good faith and uphold the shared values of the European football family to find a fair way to compensate us in this transfer, what we are talking about.”
Negotiations between the clubs included Levy offering to pay 10% of any future sell-on fee for Solomon, which Palkin deemed insufficient, referring to it as “peanuts” for a club like Tottenham. He stated:
“They made an offer, but it’s not really something substantial.
“To demonstrate that they are prepared to give, they give something akin to peanuts, but it is incomparable to what they received.
“This is not how a club like Tottenham should act. It is a premier, internationally recognized club, so their actions are really odd.
Shakhtar’s appeal is still pending, and Tottenham hasn’t benefited from the trade yet because Solomon hasn’t played for the team since October because of a meniscus injury, missing 24 games overall.
