Falkirk are ready to call in the League Pay up now or else, Fulston warns Hearts

KEN GALLACHER Chief football writer

6 Jan 1996

GEORGE Fulston, the Falkirk chairman, last night handed Hearts an ultimatum over the "poaching" of manager Jim Jefferies in the summer.

The financially troubled Tynecastle club must come up with a compensation offer which Fulston finds satisfactory by the end of next week or the matter will be handed to the Scottish League to deal with.

That could mean Hearts facing a massive fine - Celtic had to pay the Scottish League £100,000 after having been found guilty of inducing Tommy Burns to leave Kilmarnock - as well as a compensation figure which would be set by the football authorities.



Jefferies left Falkirk in highly controversial and highly publicised circumstances.

At one stage he announced he would stay at Brockville, then, dramatically he change his mind and walked out, leaving Fulston without a manager.

Now, quite simply, Fulston a vice-president of the League, has run out of patience.

He says he has attempted to negotiate with Hearts over a compensation figure for Jefferies but the talks have gone nowhere.



"We are playing them at Tynecastle next weekend," said Fulston, "and if they have not come up with a figure which I find acceptable, then the whole matter will be placed in the hands of the Scottish League.

"I do not want to do this but cannot see any alternative at the moment.

I have tried to be patient.

I have tried to be understanding, but the responses I have had from Hearts so far have not come close to the kind of compensation figure I would be expecting.

"

It seems strange that they reached an agreement quickly as regards the No.2, Billy Brown, but cannot do the same for the manager.

When I replaced Jim Jefferies here and appointed John Lambie, I went through the proper procedures and paid Partick Thistle £20,000 compensation, even though there was no contract involved.

"Yet, here we are halfway through the season and we are no closer to an agreement.

I cannot let this go on any longer.

I will be at Tynecastle next week and I will speak to the Hearts chairman, Chris Robinson, and if he cannot satisfy me then, the League will be called in.



"This is not the road I want to go down but I don't see any other way of dealing with the situation.

The whole affair has dragged on for too long, and that has been partially due to the problems we have had about our new stadium.

The hearing regarding planning permission for that has now been set for January 23, and I would like to have the Hearts business settled now as well."

The Edinburgh side, of course, face other huge financial worries.

Their overdraft is close to £5m, and while the new men in charge are attempting to impose fresh fiscal policies at the club, it is an uphill struggle for them.

As well as the Falkirk claim, they also are preparing to fight a legal action raised by their former manager, Tommy McLean, who is seeking compensation for a part of his contract which was terminated when Hearts sacked him in the close season.

The "poaching" of Burns from Kilmarnock has been the most high-profile case of its kind in Scottish football.

The Parkhead club were forced to pay the £100,000 fine and then a tribunal appointed by the SFA to assess a compensation figure ruled that Celtic had to pay a further £200,000 to Kilmarnock.

These figures must seem frightening to a Hearts' board already attempting to stave off their various financial problems.

But, if Fulston is not given the answer he wants next week, then these are the amounts of money Hearts may be asked to find.

The next seven days could prove among the most financially critical in the club's long history.

Taken from the Herald