Kewell vs. Lineker trail jury failed to reach a verdict

Premier League club Liverpool player Harry Kewell sued ex-footballer Gary Lineker for libel because he did not want people to think he had brought "shame to the game”. Kewell demands substantial damages over a "hurtful and humiliating attack" on his transfer from Leeds United, which the Match of the Day anchorman, who was never booked in 12 years as a player, launched in a July 2003 newspaper column.

Andrew Monson, Kewell’s counsel, told the Court that Lineker, Sunday Telegraph sports editor Jon Ryan and Telegraph Group Ltd had accused the player of being a fool and implied that he was a knave who was guilty of dishonorable conduct. Kewell himself said that he couldn't quite believe it when he first heard on Lineker’s article headed "Kewell move made me feel ashamed of the game". “When I read the article I felt like I was badly assaulted," Kewell told the Court. He explained that since the article came from someone "so high up in the profession", it had hurt him on a "professional level".

Kewell claims that the article libeled him in three ways:
1) That he put his agent to approach Liverpool without Leeds' consent and had therefore been disloyal and cunningly circumvented the rules which prohibited him from entering into negotiations with Liverpool before the final year of his contract.
2) That he had naively and stupidly allowed Mandic to manipulate him to his financial detriment.
3) That he had discredited himself by willingly participating in a deeply dishonorable and financially dubious transfer.

"He was quite simply wrong to claim that Bernie Mandic had made £2m out of the transfer deal at the expense of Harry Kewell. He was quite simply wrong to say that the claimant was happy for his agent to make such a huge profit at his expense," Monson told the Court. "Our case is that the defense of fair comment does not get off the ground, as the central fact relied on by Gary Lineker to support his comment about the claimant is wholly untrue,” Monson added.

Kewell, who went to Liverpool for a total five-year financial package of £13.5m, said he did not get involved with the transfer fee discussions and that once he had the package he wanted from Liverpool, 20 percent more than he got at Leeds, he was not interested in higher offers from other clubs. Furthermore Kewell claimed that he didn’t violated any rule since Leeds were keen to sell him, and even give other agents permission to go out there and to sell him.

However, the jury has been discharged after the six men and six women failed to reach a verdict. The hearing lasted seven days but it has ended in frustration for all parties. The costs of the trial were estimated at £200,000 and there has been no decision on who will pay those fees nor when a retrial will take place.