The club today broke their silence over the departure of former midfielder Thomas Butler after he submitted a claim at an employment tribunal.
A statement was released from the club as follows:
Club Officials admitted that they are surprised and disappointed by the actions of the player, particularly as the Club has handled his situation with extreme sensitivity and confidentiality in recent months to protect his personal reputation.
However, the Club feels it has no choice other than to clarify the position in relation to the player’s departure after he has introduced matters to the public arena by speaking to reporters in Scotland, where he is currently with Dunfermline, and submitting an application to an employment tribunal.
During the early part of this year Thomas Butler entirely of his own volition resigned from the Club and made it clear to the Manager that he no longer wanted to play football for Sunderland.
In a meeting with Manager Mick McCarthy in January 2004 Thomas Butler informed him that he no longer enjoyed playing competitive football and hadn’t for some time. He indicated to the Club that, having reflected on this for many months, he did not enjoy the life of a footballer and no longer wanted to continue as a player and in particular that he no longer wished to play football for Sunderland.
Of even greater concern to the Club, during discussions he admitted that he could not raise any enthusiasm for playing in competitive matches and had not been able to for some time, and appeared unconcerned about the results of matches he was involved in.
This was a highly unusual situation and as a consequence the Club gave the player permission to return to Ireland to visit his family for a short time. Whilst Thomas was clear he did not want to play for Sunderland again he was given time to consider if he still wanted to give up football altogether.
When Thomas Butler did not return to Sunderland or contact the Club, Manager Mick McCarthy and Vice Chairman John Fickling flew to Ireland to meet with the player. At this time the player confirmed his decision to resign from Sunderland Football Club and it was agreed he would not play for the Club again. Thomas repeated this again in a further conversation with another Club official a short time later. Although he had resigned, the Club still retained his registration and compensation rights, which the Club has since voluntarily agreed to forego.
Having made these statements confirming his resignation and the Club having accepted his resignation the player’s advisors subsequently attempted to retract his resignation, and asked the Club to allow him to return as a Sunderland player.
Having re-considered the circumstances carefully and after taking professional advice the Club advised both parties that it would not reinstate the player.
Sunderland Vice Chairman, John Fickling said: “We all feel extremely disappointed with the situation, which is very unusual in football terms. We regret having to make the details of Thomas’s resignation and disclosures public, particularly as we have stayed silent about the circumstances of his departure in an effort to protect the player’s future interests.
“Thomas’s feelings are personal to him and he is entitled to these. As an employer we respected his decision and chose not to disclose the circumstances of his departure publicly despite being pressed repeatedly over recent months by sections of the media and some supporters for an explanation. However, Thomas has now chosen to take the matter into the public arena by speaking to reporters.
“The Club has acted with integrity during the process. The Club did not coerce the player to say he did not want to play for Sunderland or that he had no enthusiasm for playing football games, nor did we solicit his resignation. However, having made the statements and taking these actions the Club has the right to act on them and ultimately chose to do so by accepting his resignation.”
In the circumstances Sunderland AFC was surprised to receive the application for an employment tribunal, but will deal with this through the appropriate legal channels.
