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[whiskyalty]

page 34 a soccer ace forced to retire after a horror injury is suing for lost earnings. altrincham fc semi pro marcus hallows 33 suffered an open shin fracture and his heart stopped after a tackle by ashton uniteds dan white. united told a preliminary hearing in manchester it was not malicious.

[Dougals Dad]

"Not malicious:" maybe, but there should be a certain level of competence expected by a footballer at this level. White did not reach that level.

[B. 4D]

A second after the ball had gone.
What was the ref doing!!!!
Horrendous challenge

[Jimmy Hill]

Should have been a penalty.

I'm still annoyed about that tbh.

[gazwarrington]

from www.altrinchamfc.com

The Manchester Evening News confirms that "A footballer whose career was ended by a horrific injury is suing the player who tackled him for £100,000. Altrincham striker Marcus Hallows (left), 33, suffered an open fracture of his shin in the tackle by defender Danny White. He almost died when his heart stopped after he was taken to hospital. He had to undergo two operations. Now he is bringing a lawsuit for loss of earnings against Mr White and the team he played for, Ashton United.
Ashton say they are dismayed at the action and believe there is no case to answer. The club could be ruined if the court hearing goes against them... Mr Hallows is claiming loss of earnings based on a career in semi-professional football until the age of 35. The case is expected to go to trial next year... A preliminary hearing at Manchester Civil Justice Centre heard Marcus's injuries had been so severe that he could not continue playing - he has since started a new career as an Elvis impersonator. It is expected that a soccer expert will be called to give evidence about the tackle, in March 2005. There was no video footage of the incident but witness and photographic evidence will be given to the court.

His solicitor Gareth Williams said the key question to be asked was whether there had been a significant risk of causing injury when the tackle was made. Ashton United chairman Dave Aspinall said: 'We simply don't agree that it was a malicious tackle. The person best placed to comment was the referee. There was no booking and neither the ref nor the linesman took any action at the time. In our view it was a collision and it was very unfortunate. Danny White is a real gentleman and not surprisingly most upset about what has happened. He's a hard player but an honest one and we're backing him all the way. This was just a tackle that went bad. It happens sometimes but there was nothing deliberate about it. We'll just have to see what the court makes of it now'.

Mr Hallows, from Harwood, Bolton, was once a Bolton Wanderers reserve team player. He had only been on the pitch a couple of minutes after being brought on as a substitute in the non-league match. His club's physiotherapist said it was the worst injury he had seen. X-rays revealed that both the tibia and fibula bones in his right leg had been fractured".

[Red n White]

What was the tackle like?

If the Ashton player wasn't even booked then surely the refs evidence isn't going to back Hallows? Also its difficult without video evidence.

£100k!!! That is a lot of money not sure what makes up that figure. I assume his rehab would be NHS and as for loss of earnings 2 years as a semi pro footballer.

wasn't there a player (Gordon Watson maybe??) who got about £1m for a tackle that ended his career. I think it was Bradford v Sheff Wed. Now that was a horror of a challenge!!

[radcliffe alty]

I was behind the goal at the 20/20 end when it happened. It is still probably one of the worst things I have seen or heard  - certainly in football - in my life. It was clear what had happened straight away to everyone bar the ref who waved play on.

That said, I do not believe the tackle was malicious as I recall. It was just mistimed - surely par for the course amongst Unibond defenders. I cannot believe he went in to do Marcus, it would probably be more difficult to do that on purpose. I do remember the keeper in particular being horrified.

Perhaps the 100k includes money he would have earned as Elvis during the recuperation? I know he was in a bad way towards the end, all pumped full of drugs and cheeseburgers, but don't ever remember The King performing on crutches!

[Mallorca Alty]

What was the tackle like?

If the Ashton player wasn't even booked then surely the refs evidence isn't going to back Hallows? Also its difficult without video evidence.

£100k!!! That is a lot of money not sure what makes up that figure. I assume his rehab would be NHS and as for loss of earnings 2 years as a semi pro footballer.

wasn't there a player (Gordon Watson maybe??) who got about £1m for a tackle that ended his career. I think it was Bradford v Sheff Wed. Now that was a horror of a challenge!!

Wasn't there another incident which went to court, when Gary Bennett of Chester broke Ian Knight's, of Sheffield Wednesday, leg during a FA Cup 4th round replay tie at Hillsborough.

[AltyTunnelSteward]

If I may again play devils advocate on this and ask a hypothetical question

What would your response be if the Aldershot player who got a broken leg in the last game of the 2006/07 season decided to sue Scotty and AFC.

He was a teenager with a huge potential in the game who has had to give up the Professional game and go part time so the possible payout would be immense

Just interested

[seasonticket]

Didn't know you read minds as well, ATS
You echo my thoughts exactly.

[Mick]

I was on the Chequers end when this happened...........it's the worst thing I've ever seen in football and still think it was a red card and a penalty for a reckless late challenge.

I am guessing, but won't a judge take the view that an injury (serious or otherwise) is a genuine hazard of playing certain sports ? There are currently several young men in the county who are confined to wheelchairs after serious neck injuries playing rugby.
Surely the only way to win a case like this is if it can be proved beyond reasonable doubt that it was deliberate and the intention was to cause serious harm i.e something along the lines of GBH ?

[moousee]

It couldn't be proved that it was deliberate though, however the player can still be blamed even if it is a mistake. Its not a crime that the other player is being accused of. He is sued for making a frankly awful challenge, which destroyed another players career. In legal terms its not as easy to decide as being made out here. I wholeheartedly agree with the fact that it is a risk in football though, I dont think any player should be considering taking this kind of action, its a risk inherent in the game.

[Uncle Globnasty]

Not arguing the rights or the wrongs here, but just playing devil's advocate:

You could say that when a driver runs someone down in their car by accident, because they mistimed a turn (were travelling too fast, etc) that they shouldn't be punished. The pedestrian should have realised the dangers when they decided to walk beside the road. That wouldn't wash in a court of law.

It's a difficult area and you can understand why Marcus would take this action. You can see it from both sides of the fence.

It will be interesting to see what the outcome is. We have become a litigation society.

[Butty]

My initial reaction when I read the post by ATS was to think back a bit ago to hearing this news and remembering a number of people giving off a general reaction of 'Thank God for that' but...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/aldershot/7256689.stm 

He has also just left Aldershot (contract not renewed) so I think he is still playing full time. However, I get the general point ATS was trying to put over

[Jenga]

£100k - you seem to be mentioning only about his loss of earnings. Alot of this will be pain and suffering akin to whiplash claims etc etc, plus wage plus of enjoyment plus compensation for other things he could have done during his rehab such a days out holidays etc etc that he could not go on.

£100 is conservative i think