Liverpool have been charged by the Premier League with making an illegal approach for former player Christian Ziege. The Anfield side are the first Premiership club to face such a charge and Ziege, the German international defender now at Tottenham, has also been charged in connection with his transfer from Middlesbrough to Liverpool last year.
The charges follow a 10-month investigation into allegations made by the Teesside club, and are a severe embarrassment to Liverpool and manager Gerard Houllier, who last year described Middlesbrough's claims as laughable. Both Liverpool and Ziege have been given 14 days to respond to the charges, and are certain to face a Premier League disciplinary commission.
The charges follow a complaint from Middlesbrough over the transfer of Ziege to Liverpool for £5.5million at the start of last season. A Premier League spokesman told the Press Association: "I can confirm that Liverpool and Christian Ziege have been charged by the Premier League. Both parties have 14 days to respond. They can either admit their guilt and cite mitigating circumstances, in which case a commission drawn from the Premier League disciplinary panel will be set up. Alternatively they can plead not guilty and a similar commission would be drawn up."
The League spokesman said the charges related to approaches made to a player registered to another club, without the permission of that club, via his agent. In an article in a Middlesbrough match programme in October last year, Boro chairman Steve Gibson said the club had given Ziege a get-out clause on compassionate grounds following his move from AC Milan the previous year.
Gibson confirmed: "We were aware that Ziege had suffered greatly in Italy and that he did not want a repeat of that. To safeguard the club's position we took comfort in the rules of the Premier League, where it is written law that no player can induce or look to seek another club during the length of his contract, and neither can any Premier League club look to induce a player to break his contract. In addition there is a confidentiality agreement within the contract which forbids the club discussing the contract, or the player discussing any part of a contract to third parties. We believe that both Christian Ziege and Liverpool broke the rules of the Premier League and we are seeking redress to this situation.
If the charges are proved, Middlesbrough will seek compensation for a player they valued at £8million. Ironically, Ziege and Houllier fell out soon after his arrival and he moved to Tottenham this summer.
Filed by Shane Murray
