the dismissed arbitrator Bart Vertenten claims 130,000 euros to the Belgian Union

The referee dismissed in the Footgate Bart Vertenten assigns the Belgian Football Union (URBSFA) before the Labor Court of Brussels and claims 130,000 euros, report Tuesday The Last Hour and several Flemish newspapers.

Bart Vertenten, who disputes his dismissal as arbitrator, was dismissed five days after the search warrant conducted in October last year under the Footgate, the investigation into the suspicion of fraud in the middle of the Belgian football. He now claims 130,000 euros to the Belgian Union for unfair dismissal.

In his letter of dismissal for "breaking the bond of trust", the URBSFA was referring to a press release from the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office where, among other things, there was talk of contacts between Bart Vertenten and the player agent Dejan Veljkovic, one of the key figures in the scandal, and a suspicious penalty in the Antwerp-Eupen match.

However, as after every game, an arbitration report was drawn up that day, says his lawyer Hans Rieder, who reads that the line judge, not the referee, is blamed. Later, the document highlights "very good reactions, a very good treatment of the meeting and five yellow cards justified". Counsel adds that the Belgian Union was aware of this when it took the decision to dismiss Bart Vertenten anyway.

The amount of 130,000 euros claimed from the Belgian Union also takes into account the fact that he was wrongly deprived of doing what he likes most: arbitrate. For the Belgian Union, the breach of trust was justified by his contacts with Dejan Veljkovic.