O’Neill’s Villa tribunal to start

A flag depicting Martin O’Neill is draped over the stands at Villa Park

A Premier League Tribunal will on Thursday start to consider the circumstances that led to Martin O’Neill’s abrupt departure from the manager’s job at Aston Villa.

O’Neill has refused to shed any light on why he left Villa last August.

The tribunal follows the failure of a mediation process to resolve his dispute with the club late last year.

The Premier League Managers’ Arbitration tribunal is only the third involving a manager in recent years.

The other two concerned Alan Curbishley and West Ham in 2010, and Kevin Keegan and Newcastle in 2009.

All contracts with Premier League managers include a clause ensuring they and the clubs attempt mediation, so this tribunal is a Court of Last Resort – where other attempts at mediation have failed.

This Premier League model, chaired by a QC, is designed to avoid the expense and time of going to the High Court.

It will be up to the panel chairman to decide how much of the evidence, submissions of the parties, and the panel’s findings are made public.

In the Keegan case they were very damaging for Newcastle United, who had to pay £2m in damages plus interest as they were ruled to be in breach of a term in his contract.

Curbishley also won his case for constructive dismissal, with West Ham paying an undisclosed compensation fee.

The tribunal could sit for at least a week and there is no deadline for a ruling to be announced.