Latest news with #Lage
Times
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Times
FA claims Club World Cup will hamper Thomas Tuchel's England side
The FA's latest annual report contains a warning that new global competitions such as Fifa's Club World Cup risk devaluing the FA Cup — and that player fatigue could affect the performance of Thomas Tuchel's England team. Under a section headed 'principal risks and uncertainties', the annual report says the growing fixture congestion could have financial implications for the governing body. It states: 'The ongoing discussions regarding future structural changes to the game, such as the introduction of new tournaments (eg Fifa Club World Cup), further intensify this challenge. These changes have the potential to significantly reduce the downtime available to elite players, affecting their recovery and overall wellbeing. 'The introduction of more global competitions risks devaluing traditional domestic tournaments, such as the FA Cup, and may affect the performance of our national teams due to increased player fatigue and reduced time for international squad training. These factors could have financial implications for us.' Fifa's new club competition takes place in the United States this summer, with Manchester City and Chelsea taking part. If City win the FA Cup they are due to play in the FA Community Shield less than four weeks after the final of the Club World Cup — they have already had an appeal to delay the start of their Premier League season rejected. The MCC chairman, Mark Nicholas, appears to be tying himself in knots over the future of the Eton v Harrow match at Lord's, with the latest fixture between the public schools taking place on Thursday, 220 years after the first one there. Nicholas said in 2023 he thought it was time for the game to be played elsewhere and that his three Old Etonian stepsons agreed. However, Nicholas has now told MCC's 'historic fixtures' group he is 'not in the business of culling fixtures', that the members would ultimately decide their future and that his stepsons may have changed their view. He told The Times this week: 'We remain in contact with both schools. My stepsons' views have not changed.' Documents in the British court case involving John Textor, the Crystal Palace co-owner who is being sued by Bruno Lage, the Portuguese manager who was head coach of his Brazilian club, Botafogo, make interesting reading. Lage is claiming he had a contract to coach at Palace or Textor's French club, Lyon, for the 2024-25 season, with $3.6million (about £2.7million) to be paid to him and his technical staff. Textor's submission to the court admits he signed the 'alleged contract' in July 2023 but claims it is an 'unenforceable agreement in law' and was merely an opportunity for Lage to negotiate to be the Palace or Lyon manager. The Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, appears to have taken a social media aide to accompany and film him at the Pope's funeral in Rome this week. A video montage on his Instagram account, lasting a minute and a half, shows a dark-suited Infantino in multiple shots greeting the good and the great who also went to the Vatican. Newcastle United have taken legal steps to ensure that fans can access St James' Park via a small strip of land just outside the East Stand that is not owned by the club. A company called St James Terrace Land, whose sole director, Robert Kalbraier, also runs a property firm, bought the land in April last year for £180,000 and since then a large metal container and a wooden fence have appeared and then been removed from the site. The club have now launched a case in the civil courts aiming to secure a ruling that either fans are given private access across the strip of land or there is access for the general public — the action is not related to stadium development. Sky Sports News is planning to have fewer staff presenters, with more working as freelancers, and a number of redundancies are likely — including some well-known faces — after a consultation process. Its news team is also set to be restructured, with reporters told they will need to provide more 'original newsgathering'. Sky Sports News insists the move is not to save money but rather to deliver the news more quickly and be more creative.
New York Times
02-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Bruno Lage vs Eagle Football: The £6m lawsuit for the ‘job offer' that never came
It was Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano who first noticed the similarities between the business of football and what Walt Disney started a century ago. 'Disney uses its characters, such as Mickey Mouse, to produce audiovisual content, sell T-shirts and instigate theme parks,' he wrote in Goal: The Ball Doesn't Go In By Chance in 2012. 'Manchester United might not have had Mickey Mouse, but it did have David Beckham, who used to sell a whole lot of television programmes (football matches), T-shirts, and to turn Old Trafford into a lucrative theme park.' Advertisement This 'Disneyfication' of football is the theory underpinning the multi-club ownership model that Soriano has implemented at City Football Group, the holding company that owns stakes in 13 clubs, most notably Manchester City. But a £6million ($8m) legal case filed at London's Commercial Court in March has revealed that John Textor, the man behind the Eagle Football group of clubs, has spotted another potential multi-club benefit: managerial recruitment. Textor's pitch to former Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Bruno Lage in July 2023 appears to have been words to the effect of 'join our Brazilian subsidiary Botafogo for six months and, if all goes well, we will move you to one of our sexier posts at Crystal Palace or Lyon'. This is not an offer any owner of a single club could put forward, but owners of multi-club groups can, in theory, make such promises. However, the dispute between Lage and Textor, a first of its kind, will hinge on whether such promises are enforceable. Lage didn't get his move to the Premier League or Ligue 1 — and now he wants around £6m for the 'job offer' that never came. In July 2023, Eagle's Rio-based club, Botafogo, were top of the Serie A table in Brazil but without a head coach, as Portuguese manager Luis Castro had just joined compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo at Saudi side Al Nassr. Having been sacked by Wolves in October 2022, Lage was available and looked like a decent fit at Botafogo. He is also Portuguese, so speaks the language, and won a title with Benfica in 2019. He is also represented by Ronaldo's agent, Jorge Mendes. For Lage, this was a way to get back on the horse, and not just any horse, as Botafogo had made their best ever start to the season and were seven points clear at the top of Brazil's Serie A. But, on the flip side, Botafogo were a very surprising league-leader and there was still a lot of football to be played. Advertisement Furthermore, Brazil is a long way from the bright lights of European football's biggest stages and that was where Lage really wanted to be. So, he needed some assurances from Eagle that this move away from Europe was not permanent. Eagle gave him a six-month contract to see out the rest of the Brazilian season and a side deal, or 'retainment agreement', that detailed a potential promotion to Crystal Palace or Lyon. And this is where the legal row starts. The particulars of the claim were filed in London by Lage's lawyer, Liz Ellen, on March 19. Quoting from the contract's recital, which is a statement of facts that precedes all the legalese, it says Eagle Football Holdings Ltd, a UK-registered company, is the ultimate owner of Botafogo, Crystal Palace and OL (Olympique Lyonnais or, more commonly in English, Lyon) — although in Palace's case, this is only partially true, as Eagle owns 43 per cent of the Premier League club. It then says that Lage is to be employed by Botafogo from July 15 to December 31 but, at the termination of that contract, 'Eagle Holdings is desirous of engaging (Lage) as head coach of either Crystal Palace or OL' and Lage 'is desirous of being engaged as head coach of Crystal Palace or OL'. We then get to the key passage. 'The parties have agreed that during the period January 1, 2024, to April 15, 2024 (the 'restricted period'), Eagle Holdings must use its powers as beneficial owner of Crystal Palace and OL to offer the head coach a new position as head coach of the men's professional football first team at either Crystal Palace or OL,' it says. This offer, the contract says, includes letting Lage appoint his own assistants, with a combined salary pot, which Lage can divide as he sees fit, of $3.6million 'per annum, net of tax and social security contributions'. Or 'netto', as football agents have often put it to English clubs. Advertisement However, there was a reciprocal agreement by Lage that he would pay Eagle Football the same sum 'in compensation' if he took a job in the restricted period. So, Lage was committing to making 'himself available' to Eagle during this period, and the parties 'intend this retainment agreement to be legally binding'. So what happened? After Roy Hodgson fell ill in February 2024, Crystal Palace replaced him with Oliver Glasner, the Austrian coach who was in demand after successful stints at LASK, Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt. Getting Glasner looked like a coup at the time for Palace and that is how it has panned out. Lage's name was never linked with the role in any media report that The Athletic can remember. Lyon, meanwhile, had Pierre Sage in the dugout. He had initially taken the role on an interim basis in November 2023, following the sacking of Fabio Grosso, but, in January, Textor officially gave him the job until the end of the season. Sage was then given a new two-year contract that summer as a reward for getting Lyon into the Europa League. Lage was linked with this job in the media, but Sage was the man in possession and nobody thought it was odd that he ended up keeping it. Lage, however, was very much available by this point, as he and Botafogo had parted company on October 3, 2024, less than three months after taking the job. In a post-match press conference on September 3 after Botafogo had lost 2-1 at home to local rivals Flamengo, Lage said: 'Regarding this thing of only looking at my career at Botafogo, it puts a lot of pressure on the players, and I don't accept that. 'There is only one way to free them from this pressure. And that is why I am here before you. I have not spoken to anyone, I have thought a lot and I am putting my position at the disposal of the director, at the disposal of the president. Advertisement 'I have a contract with Botafogo until December, it's a lot of money in salaries, I have prizes that are practically guaranteed for going to the Libertadores. There's the champion's prize, but I have no problem giving that up because I'm not greedy for money. 'What I cannot allow is for the pressure that is being exerted on me to be exerted on my players. That is all I have to say. My place is at the disposal of whoever is in charge, without anything else to say. Good night, thank you.' Eagle's interpretation can be found in the statement it released when news of Lage's legal action emerged last month. It says Eagle is 'aware' of his claim, which it says 'relates to a dispute over the proper interpretation of a historical agreement' between the parties. It continues by saying that Eagle does not believe Lage has a case and it will 'vigorously defend the claim'. It will also go after Lage for its costs. We then get this withering assessment of Lage's exit. 'Eagle Football notes that Bruno Lage's claim relates to an alleged failure to offer him a role at one of its clubs, if he were terminated by one of Eagle Football's clubs, Botafogo,' it says. 'Eagle Football finds it curious that Bruno Lage feels aggrieved at not having been made such offer, given that, as was widely reported, he effectively walked away from one of Eagle Football's clubs, Botafogo, at a time when he was highly supported by ownership. 'As is well known to the Brazil press, Mr Lage announced that he should be terminated, while walking out of a live press conference after Botafogo's game against its biggest rival, in a crucial match. His abdication of his leadership position was a clear breach of his agreement and Eagle Football remains surprised that he would characterise his departure as a unilateral termination.' Advertisement It adds Eagle is 'happy' to see Lage back in management with Benfica, second in the Portuguese league, and 'remains open to an honest and constructive discussion with him to resolve this dispute'. Neither Lage, his agent, nor his lawyer has responded to requests for comment, but his demands are very clearly spelt out in the legal documents. 'If Eagle Holdings fails to secure that Crystal Palace or OL makes a job offer during the restricted period, then Eagle Holdings shall pay to (Lage) the sum of $3.6million net of tax and social security contributions,' the claim says, quoting from the retainment agreement. It concludes by noting that this payment was due on April 29, 2024, and the sum now owed, after factoring in Portugal's tax rates, is $7,659,574 plus interest, costs and whatever damages the court sees fit to award. So, what are his chances? 'It's an interesting and unusual case, but I think as we see more multi-club ownership models, things like this will become more prevalent,' Jamie Singer, a founding partner of sports specialist Onside Law, tells The Athletic. 'But the way they have gone about it, with this 'retainment agreement' concept, is odd. 'A fundamental principle of English contract law is that an agreement to agree is unenforceable. On the face of it, this retainment agreement looks very like an agreement to agree. 'It's also difficult to see what consideration Lage is providing, other than, I suppose, forgoing other employment opportunities after Botafogo.' Gregory Ioannidis, an international sports lawyer and an associate professor at Sheffield Hallam University, is another who thinks Lage's legal team have their work cut out and might want to exhaust football's usual disciplinary procedures — via the English Football Association or FIFA — before going to court. Advertisement 'Football parties are subject to regulatory restrictions in that they must follow arbitration and avoid recourse to national courts,' Ioannidis says. 'This is a strict rule that national associations tend to enforce. 'So, this is going to be tricky because we are looking at allegations of a breach of contract for a promise made regarding an employment opportunity in the future. 'There may also be jurisdictional issues — say he is successful in his claim, he will need to execute the court's order. But if the defendant is based abroad, he may find it difficult to recover monies. The claim may be dismissed before it even starts. 'That's why I advise clients to go through the usual disciplinary process — FIFA has more power to enforce decisions at a global level with harsher punishments.'
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Crystal Palace owner being sued for £6 million by ex-Wolves manager
Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor is being sued for more than £6 million at the High Court by Bruno Lage after the club appointed Oliver Glasner as manager. An extraordinary lawsuit, which Telegraph Sport has been told Textor is contesting, accuses him of signing a contract stating he would use his power as the largest shareholder in Palace and French giants Lyon to offer the role of head coach at one of those teams to former Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Lage. The alleged contract covering the period between January 1 and April 15 last year was signed shortly after Lage, now in his second spell with Benfica, became manager of Textor's Brazilian side, Botafogo, on a six-month deal in July 2023. The Portuguese was sacked after less than three months in charge in what was his first job since being fired by Wolves in October 2022. Palace appointed Glasner in February 2024 on the same day Roy Hodgson stepped down to allow the club to 'bring forward their plans to appoint a new manager'. Former England manager Hodgson, 77, had been taken ill during training days earlier amid speculation he was facing the sack. Lyon, meanwhile, made Pierre Sage their new head coach in July, having appointed him on an interim basis the previous November. Lage was never publicly linked with the Palace job but he was reportedly in the frame to become Lyon manager before Laurent Blanc was sacked in September. Documents seen by Telegraph Sport allege that a 'retainment agreement' signed by Textor states any job offer made to Lage would include a minimum two-year fixed-term contract and a combined salary for the manager and his staff of $3.6 million (£2.75 million) per annum net of tax and social security contributions. The 'legally binding' contract was also said to state Textor's Eagle Football Holdings would pay Lage that amount by April 29 last year if he failed to ensure one of Palace or Lyon made such an offer to the Portuguese during the agreed period. Lage calculates that would amount to $7,659,574 (£5,924,948.94), on top of which he is claiming interest, costs, and 'such further or other relief as the court deems fit'. The lawsuit also claims that the deal included a clause that would see Lage pay Textor $3.6 million (£2.75 million) if he took a managerial role other than with the two clubs during the same period. After being sacked by Botafogo, Lage remained out of work during the alleged 'restricted period' before taking the Benfica job in September. In May, Textor announced he was trying to sell his 45 per cent stake in Palace after declaring an interest in buying Everton. His bid to purchase the Merseyside club relied on his Eagle Football Holdings divesting itself of its stake in a rival team and it ultimately ended in failure. Former Eintracht Frankfurt manager Glasner led Palace to a 10th-placed Premier League finish last season and they currently lie 11th in the table with a game in hand. They also play Aston Villa this month for a place in the FA Cup final. Benfica, meanwhile, are chasing a domestic treble under Lage, who also led them to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, where they were beaten by Barcelona. Lage, who won the Portuguese title in 2019 during his first spell in charge, spent 16 months at Wolves. Having led them to a 10th-placed finish in his first season at Molineux, he lost his job following a run of one win in 15 Premier League games. Eagle Football Holdings issued a statement saying: 'Eagle Football is aware of a court claim filed against it on behalf of Bruno Silva Do Nascimento (known as 'Bruno Lage'). The claim relates to a dispute over the proper interpretation of a historical agreement between Eagle and Mr Lage. Eagle's view is that Mr Lage is not contractually entitled to the sums being claimed on his behalf. Accordingly, Eagle will vigorously defend the claim and seek to recover its costs of doing so from Mr Lage. 'Eagle Football notes that Bruno Lage's claim relates to an alleged failure to offer him a role at one of its clubs. Eagle Football finds it curious that Bruno Lage feels aggrieved by this given that, as was widely reported, he effectively walked away from one of Eagle Football's clubs Botafogo. 'Eagle Football remains open to a constructive discussion with Bruno Lage or his representatives with a view to resolving the dispute and settling the litigation which will ultimately serve neither party.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
11-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Crystal Palace owner being sued for £6 million by ex-Wolves manager
Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor is being sued for more than £6 million at the High Court by Bruno Lage after the club appointed Oliver Glasner as manager. An extraordinary lawsuit, which Telegraph Sport has been told Textor is contesting, accuses him of signing a contract stating he would use his power as the largest shareholder in Palace and French giants Lyon to offer the role of head coach at one of those teams to former Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Lage. The alleged contract covering the period between January 1 and April 15 last year was signed shortly after Lage, now in his second spell with Benfica, became manager of Textor's Brazilian side, Botafogo, on a six-month deal in July 2023. The Portuguese was sacked after less than three months in charge in what was his first job since being fired by Wolves in October 2022. Palace appointed Glasner in February 2024 on the same day Roy Hodgson stepped down to allow the club to 'bring forward their plans to appoint a new manager'. Former England manager Hodgson, 77, had been taken ill during training days earlier amid speculation he was facing the sack. Lyon, meanwhile, made Pierre Sage their new head coach in July, having appointed him on an interim basis the previous November. Lage was never publicly linked with the Palace job but he was reportedly in the frame to become Lyon manager before Laurent Blanc was sacked in September. Documents seen by Telegraph Sport allege that a 'retainment agreement' signed by Textor states any job offer made to Lage would include a minimum two-year fixed-term contract and a combined salary for the manager and his staff of $3.6 million (£2.75 million) per annum net of tax and social security contributions. The 'legally binding' contract was also said to state Textor's Eagle Football Holdings would pay Lage that amount by April 29 last year if he failed to ensure one of Palace or Lyon made such an offer to the Portuguese during the agreed period. Lage calculates that would amount to $7,659,574 (£5,924,948.94), on top of which he is claiming interest, costs, and 'such further or other relief as the court deems fit'. The lawsuit also claims that the deal included a clause that would see Lage pay Textor $3.6 million (£2.75 million) if he took a managerial role other than with the two clubs during the same period. After being sacked by Botafogo, Lage remained out of work during the alleged 'restricted period' before taking the Benfica job in September. In May, Textor announced he was trying to sell his 45 per cent stake in Palace after declaring an interest in buying Everton. His bid to purchase the Merseyside club relied on his Eagle Football Holdings divesting itself of its stake in a rival team and it ultimately ended in failure. Former Eintracht Frankfurt manager Glasner led Palace to a 10th-placed Premier League finish last season and they currently lie 11th in the table with a game in hand. They also play Aston Villa this month for a place in the FA Cup final. Benfica, meanwhile, are chasing a domestic treble under Lage, who also led them to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, where they were beaten by Barcelona. Lage, who won the Portuguese title in 2019 during his first spell in charge, spent 16 at Wolves. Having led them to a 10th-placed finish in his first season at Molineux, he lost his job following a run of one win in 15 Premier League games. Eagle Football Holdings issued a statement saying: 'Eagle Football is aware of a court claim filed against it on behalf of Bruno Silva Do Nascimento (known as 'Bruno Lage'). The claim relates to a dispute over the proper interpretation of a historical agreement between Eagle and Mr Lage. Eagle's view is that Mr Lage is not contractually entitled to the sums being claimed on his behalf. Accordingly, Eagle will vigorously defend the claim and seek to recover its costs of doing so from Mr Lage. 'Eagle Football notes that Bruno Lage's claim relates to an alleged failure to offer him a role at one of its clubs. Eagle Football finds it curious that Bruno Lage feels aggrieved by this given that, as was widely reported, he effectively walked away from one of Eagle Football's clubs Botafogo. 'Eagle Football remains open to a constructive discussion with Bruno Lage or his representatives with a view to resolving the dispute and settling the litigation which will ultimately serve neither party.'
Boston Globe
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Joe Lovano on the art of assembling a quartet
The seed for the group was planted when Lovano – among the most prominent tenor saxophonists of his time, with dozens of celebrated albums on first Blue Note and more recently ECM to his name – was recruited for a hurricane relief benefit concert in 2022 by drummer Calhoun, a Berklee College of Music graduate best known for his work with the two-time Grammy-winning hard rock band Living Colour. Rounding out the trio Calhoun assembled for that night was bassist Dibriano, whom Lovano had first played with in the 1980s. The set went well, and when Lovano began thinking of forming a new band the next year, he decided to add guitarist Julian Lage into the mix. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Lage, 37, has long been a star in his own right, most recently leading a trio. But Lovano first met him in 1999 at the venerable Oakland, Calif., club Yoshi's, where the then-pre-teen music prodigy Lage had been brought by family friends to see McCoy Tyner lead a band that included Lovano. Several years later, Lage was placed in Lovano's ensemble class at Berklee, where since 2001 the saxophonist has held the Gary Burton Chair in Jazz Performance. Advertisement Despite their long acquaintanceship, Lovano and Lage hadn't performed publicly together until the Paramount Quartet debuted at the Vanguard in February 2024. That weeklong residency, says Lovano, was magical. The focus was on Lovano's own compositions. But the repertoire took other directions as well. 'I remember Ravi Coltrane came to hear us,' says Lovano, referring to the saxophonist son of jazz great John Coltrane, whose music the quartet spontaneously began exploring that night from the bandstand. 'I started with some theme, one of [John] Coltrane's tunes, and it turned into a 20-minute exploration of about five different Coltrane tunes in a collage — different tempos, different keys, different everything. And all of a sudden that became an idea.' Another night that week the quartet did the same with music by 'Everybody knows the music,' Lovano explains. 'You don't have to say, 'Oh yeah, let's play this, let's play that.' No, you do that by suggesting something you know, and the way Julian plays — he has a deep repertoire of music that he loves and knows. And everybody [in the group] got to play with the right people. And so, throughout the week, that idea started to take shape, too. And that was beautiful.' Advertisement Lage agreed, noting that he'd known both Lovano and Debriano as long as he could remember. He recalls having performed with Debriano around age 12; Calhoun was the only one in the group he was playing with for the first time. 'It's kind of the debut of an old thing,' says Lage. 'Joe is that kind of figure. He's deeply, deeply important to all of us, as a player, as a conceptual artist, as a writer, as a historian — as someone who understands the tradition and where it's coming from, where it's going.' Lovano also said the band would be 'playing on a couple famous, beautiful tunes,' naming relatively unfamiliar classics by Billy Strayhorn, Charlie Haden, and Wayne Shorter. 'When you play with folks, it's like — I learned this from playing with Hank Jones, too — you play music. You only really play music you love to play; you don't play anything you don't love. The more tunes and things that you love to play, the more that comes out. Because if you ever went to hear Hank Jones, play a solo concert with his trio or whatever, he captured you with every phrase. It's all about love.' Talk turns to other celebrated groups Lovano has led or played in through the years. Some remain ongoing projects: The Sound Prints quintet he co-leads with trumpeter Dave Douglas. His Advertisement 'Since the mid-'70s, I've played with all kinds of folks, man,' Lovano notes. 'I find if you play with the same people all the time, it gets boring. I like to play with all kinds of folks and have an exchange of ideas and let the music really guide you.' Lage feels the same way. 'A context is the paintbrush, and some cats are really great at using that paintbrush,' he says, referring to the grace with which Lovano moves among his various bands. 'He's able to be as free and imaginative with the contexts that he creates as he is with the music he's playing within them.' Lovano's juggling of several active bands contrasts with the approach of another stellar saxophonist, But that doesn't necessarily apply when elite musicians are involved. 'Oh no, there's no small talk at all,' Lovano counters. 'From the very get-go you get into something, because you're all living the music.' To prove his point, Lovano offers a recent example: a recording session he did with Branford Marsalis himself. It took place last July in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where the original bassist from Marsalis's quartet, Robert Hurst, lives and teaches. Joining Marsalis, Hurst, and Lovano were pianist Orrin Evans and the Marsalis quartet's original drummer, Jeff 'Tain' Watts. Advertisement 'We came together with an attitude of, 'Yeah, that's it!' Bob had some great music. You know, a lot of record dates come together with some magical spirit. For me, that's what it's about to play music. Share the space and see where it goes. Follow the concept that's coming from the cats. Follow the sound and let it take you places.' Which is just what the Paramount Quartet has been doing thus far this year, both musically and geographically. GLOBAL ARTS LIVE PRESENTS JOE LOVANO'S PARAMOUNT QUARTET FEATURING JULIAN LAGE, ASANTE SANTI DEBRIANO, WILL CALHOUN April 13, 7:30 p.m., at Somerville Theatre. 55 Davis Square, Somerville. $36 to $66.
