250,000 payout for tackle that ended career

The days of the hard man footballer who deliberately fouls opponents to take them out of a game could be over after a former Charlton Athletic player achieved a settlement of £250,000 for what he said was a deliberate illegal challenge that ended his career.

The damages won by Matt Holmes are the second highest ever for an on-field injury case involving a footballer and is the first time that a player has successfully sued an opponent following a claim of a deliberate foul.

Mr Holmes took legal action against Wolverhampton Wanderers and their player Kevin Muscat for a tackle that broke his leg during an FA Cup replay in February 1998.

Mr Holmes' injury was so severe that his surgeon told him that he had been fortunate not to have his leg amputated and despite a series of operations and intense training, he was unable to return to top-level football.

Lawyers acting for Mr Holmes had claimed that he had been the victim of a deliberate over the top challenge from Mr Muscat. They also contended that Mr Muscat was a "dirty player" with a long and continuous history of inflicting career threatening injuries on fellow professionals.

The damages were agreed in an out of court settlement but lawyers for Mr Holmes had been given permission by the court to produce Mr Muscat's disciplinary record as evidence, the first time this has ever been allowed in a compensation case involving a footballer. They were also due to produce evidence of eight other tackles carried out by Mr Muscat that had seriously injured opponents.

The court was also due to be presented with video evidence of dangerous tackles by Mr Muscat and hear evidence from players who had been injured by him, including Newcastle United striker Craig Bellamy and Birmingham City and France international Christophe Dugarry.

Others lined up to give evidence included seven Charlton players who witnessed the tackle on Mr Holmes.

The £250,000 damages were awarded on the basis that Mr Holmes was on the verge of agreeing a new contract with Charlton Athletic when he was injured and was also about to get a pay increase because he helped the club to promotion that season.

Wolverhampton Wanderers and Mr Muscat also agreed to pay costs and the total settlement will be around £750,000. They denied that Mr Holmes had been the victim of a deliberate foul, claiming that he had been the victim of an accident of the type that occurs in competitive professional football.

The largest ever payout to a professional footballer for being injured during a game is £909,143, awarded to Gordon Watson in May 1999 after his right leg was broken in two places while playing for Bradford City against Huddersfield Town.

Those damages were awarded for negligence.

Andrew Irvine, solicitor for Mr Holmes claimed: "This is the first case of its kind where a player has proved that he was the victim of a deliberate foul. It is very hard to prove this in football because it is such a competitive and physical game.

"This case has massive repercussions for players who deliberately foul opponents and managers who order them to do this. Clubs will be aware that they cannot have players who behave like this. It would be nice to think that this could be the end of the hard man footballers who deliberately foul opponents to take them out of the game but it will certainly make them think twice before they now do this."

Following his injury, Mr Holmes only played 20 minutes of football for Charlton Athletic and he quit the professional game in July 2000.