The Guardian:
The Liverpool footballer Harry Kewell was left feeling "shocked and assaulted" by Gary Lineker after the Match of the Day presenter criticised the conduct of his transfer from Leeds United in a newspaper article, the high court heard yesterday.
Kewell, a member of the Liverpool side that won the Champions League last month, said the article in the Sunday Telegraph by the former England captain constituted a "hurtful and humiliating" attack from one of the most respected voices in the English game.
Lineker and Kewell came face to face at the start of a libel action brought against Lineker and the Telegraph Group.
He is seeking damages following publication of a piece in which Lineker said the Liverpool winger "needed his head examined".
Lineker's piece appeared five days after Kewell moved to Anfield from Leeds United in one of the most controversial deals of recent times. Liverpool paid £5m for Kewell in July 2003, but of that fee £2m was paid to the player's agent Bernie Mandic, via his company Max Sport.
said: "When someone as high up as him says I disrespected the profession, that hurt a lot."
Under cross-examination Kewell said that he had engaged Mr Mandic as his agent in 1999, but that he had never charged a fee for his services.
Mr Mandic represented Kewell in negotiations with Leeds and Liverpool, and also fielded offers from seven other clubs.
Kewell said that he had no knowledge of the agreement between Leeds and Mandic over the £2m fee, which Mandic later told the court related to work he had done over three years establishing links with Australian clubs.
"It has nothing to do with me so I don't need to know anything about it so why would he tell me?" Kewell said. "If that is what Bernie arranged with Leeds, that's fine."
YOU'VE HURT MY FEELINGS, I AM NOT YOUR FRIEND ANYMORE
Thank God Kewell never came our way - probably get sued now.
The Guardian:
The Liverpool footballer Harry Kewell was left feeling "shocked and assaulted" by Gary Lineker after the Match of the Day presenter criticised the conduct of his transfer from Leeds United in a newspaper article, the high court heard yesterday.
Kewell, a member of the Liverpool side that won the Champions League last month, said the article in the Sunday Telegraph by the former England captain constituted a "hurtful and humiliating" attack from one of the most respected voices in the English game.
Lineker and Kewell came face to face at the start of a libel action brought against Lineker and the Telegraph Group.
He is seeking damages following publication of a piece in which Lineker said the Liverpool winger "needed his head examined".
Lineker's piece appeared five days after Kewell moved to Anfield from Leeds United in one of the most controversial deals of recent times. Liverpool paid £5m for Kewell in July 2003, but of that fee £2m was paid to the player's agent Bernie Mandic, via his company Max Sport.
said: "When someone as high up as him says I disrespected the profession, that hurt a lot."
Under cross-examination Kewell said that he had engaged Mr Mandic as his agent in 1999, but that he had never charged a fee for his services.
Mr Mandic represented Kewell in negotiations with Leeds and Liverpool, and also fielded offers from seven other clubs.
Kewell said that he had no knowledge of the agreement between Leeds and Mandic over the £2m fee, which Mandic later told the court related to work he had done over three years establishing links with Australian clubs.
"It has nothing to do with me so I don't need to know anything about it so why would he tell me?" Kewell said. "If that is what Bernie arranged with Leeds, that's fine."
YOU'VE HURT MY FEELINGS, I AM NOT YOUR FRIEND ANYMORE
Thank God Kewell never came our way - probably get sued now.
The Guardian:
The Liverpool footballer Harry Kewell was left feeling "shocked and assaulted" by Gary Lineker after the Match of the Day presenter criticised the conduct of his transfer from Leeds United in a newspaper article, the high court heard yesterday.
Kewell, a member of the Liverpool side that won the Champions League last month, said the article in the Sunday Telegraph by the former England captain constituted a "hurtful and humiliating" attack from one of the most respected voices in the English game.
Lineker and Kewell came face to face at the start of a libel action brought against Lineker and the Telegraph Group.
He is seeking damages following publication of a piece in which Lineker said the Liverpool winger "needed his head examined".
Lineker's piece appeared five days after Kewell moved to Anfield from Leeds United in one of the most controversial deals of recent times. Liverpool paid £5m for Kewell in July 2003, but of that fee £2m was paid to the player's agent Bernie Mandic, via his company Max Sport.
said: "When someone as high up as him says I disrespected the profession, that hurt a lot."
Under cross-examination Kewell said that he had engaged Mr Mandic as his agent in 1999, but that he had never charged a fee for his services.
Mr Mandic represented Kewell in negotiations with Leeds and Liverpool, and also fielded offers from seven other clubs.
Kewell said that he had no knowledge of the agreement between Leeds and Mandic over the £2m fee, which Mandic later told the court related to work he had done over three years establishing links with Australian clubs.
"It has nothing to do with me so I don't need to know anything about it so why would he tell me?" Kewell said. "If that is what Bernie arranged with Leeds, that's fine."