OWN CORRESPONDENT, London | Tuesday 9.30am.
A LIBEL action by Seven Stars manager Bruce Grobbelaar against Britain’s Sun tabloid over match-fixing allegations when he was Liverpool goalkeeper got off to a slow start on Monday when the judge sent the jury home.
The jury was dismissed minutes after being sworn in. Justice Gray said there were legal ”housekeeping” matters to deal with before the Sun defends its stories that Grobbelaar was prepared to take bribes to throw Premier League matches.
The former Zimbabwe international, the judge and the jury will return to London’s High Court on Tuesday. The case is expected to last four weeks.
Grobbelaar’s civil suit comes two years after he and Premiership stars John Fashanu and Hans Segers were found not guilty on criminal charges of conspiring to help fix matches for Southeast Asian betting syndicates.
Malaysian businessman Heng Suan Lim — a high-rolling gambler known as ”The Short Man” — was also acquitted.
The Football Association handed Grobbelaar and Segers a six-month ban and a 10000 ($15800) fine, both suspended, after the two goalkeepers admitted in court that they tried to help the Asian syndicates forecast match results.
Neither had tried to predict the scores from their own teams’ matches.
South African-born Grobbelaar, 42, turned down an offer to coach the newly formed Cape Town Ajax next season when his South African premier league side Seven Stars merges with neighbours Cape Town Spurs.
Stars said they would hire a Dutch coach for the new club, which will be owned by Ajax Amsterdam.
Grobbelaar guided the newly promoted Stars from 13th place to fifth after he took over in January. — Reuters