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Sheffield Wednesday suing supporters

Has anyone else been following this ??

Sheffield Wednesday directors are suing around 40 supporters for what they class as defamatory comments on an unofficial supporters forum. Most of the supporters face losing their homes, despite them being sued for trivial things such as suggesting Chris Brunt was going to be sold (he has) and that they were going to have a struggling season (they are). I've never heard of anything so crazy in my life. Here is the comments of a couple on the receiving end:


I am one of the many Sheffield Wednesday supporters that the club is looking to sue. If nobody in particular and the other board members get their way, I face bankruptcy, losing my home and jeopardising my 7 year old son's future.

What could I possibly have written on a internet messageboard that could trigger such a fierce retaliation? I expressed an opinion that the club's activity in the transfer market was not as genuine as it appeared. I used no foul language, I merely expressed my genuinely held opinion.. I named no-one. Yet apparently, this constitutes defamation. I am also aware of another life long supporter of the club who is subject to possible legal action for suggesting that Chris Brunt would be sold and that we would have a poor start to the season. Both of which are now evidently correct.

Is this what Sheffield Wednesday have now stooped to ? Is there really such tyranny in the boardroom that any dissent amongst the paying customers is met with such excessive action ?

I am advised that if all of the defamation action against the supporters of this club comes to fruition, it will cost the club in the region of £8 million pounds. To what end ? Are the club really going to spend that much money to pursue targets that have little or no money in a bid just to stifle any questioning of their handling of matters in the boardroom ? The action cannot be taking place for financial gain. It is merely bullying and intimidation.

Supporters of the club should be made aware of this. How would fans feel that £8 million pounds is available for these lawsuits, yet we cannot afford to strengthen a team that , given the progress made on the field last season, should easily be challenging for promotion this year ? If supporters knew that this is where their money was being channelled , would there be an outcry ? Would there be fewer attendees ? I guess it's not possible to speculate as supporting a football club is generally a matter of the heart and it is difficult to switch off one's passion but I am aware of many supporters who will no longer contribute to the club to fund such a repugnant course of action.

I am copying this letter to the Football League and the FA as I feel that the actions taken by the Sheffield Wednesday directors are harming football in general. Damaging the product. Football has long been a game of opinions and if Sheffield Wednesday get their way and proceed with legal action against 40 paying customers, it will rip the heart out of football in this country.

I implore you to investigate and report on these actions. As journalists, it is your duty to get to the truth and to report accurately on exactly what is transpiring in our football club. Recent articles show a disgraceful bias toward the club. nobody in particular will not be chairman of Sheffield Wednesday for ever, but the fans will always be here and you should bear that in mind when you publish letters and stories without getting a proper balance.

Unfortunately, I cannot provide my name or address as nobody in particular is unaware of my details, he needs these to proceed with legal action against me and, despite the clubs crippling debt, he continues to spend the clubs money to acquire them.

If you have any sense of fairness, you will print this letter, but given the current levels of sycophancy towards the club, you will appreciate that I harbour doubts as to whether you will.


Can I just add that I too am one of the supporters the club is looking to sue, but what is different to Vaughan in my case, is that (this is how I understand it anyway) the club do not have a specific post relating to any comments I have made, however, they have demanded access to Owlstalk postings from me over the last 12 months, probably so they can try to find something to cite me for.

So let me run that by you again.

- They have nothing on me.

- Want to find something.

- So have demanded to see my posts over the last 12 months.

I am also in the same position as Vaughan in that I too could face bankruptcy, losing my home and jeopardising my 4 year old daghter's future. And for what, they seemingly don't even appear to have a specific post to cite me for!!!
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Comments

  • this has to be a wind up!!?? if not that is some serious stuff! not at all good
  • No wind up. Yorkshire Post already banned from the ground, and other local press are playing nicely with them due to fear of being banned or sued themselves.

    Crazy.
  • Ollie its 100% serious, I've been following this for some time.

    I dont think you mentioned the main problem AFKA, the club are forcing the website to provide the last "x period of time" web history, so they can search through it to find offences. (sorry if you did and im too dumb to see it)

    The club have denied that 'club money' is being spent, however I highly doubt that to be true.
  • don't know the full story Stu, so would be interested in what you know.
  • edited September 2007
    My memory is a bit shite, but wasn't there a case back in the Net Addicks days about a poster one of the other Rivals forums being sued by a club director (may even have been the chairman) for defamation? I seem to remember plenty of posts getting deleted/censored in case Trevor was cited for having anything "dodgy" on the NA board.

    It's a good job we (mostly!) behave ourselves on CL!
  • thankfully, cant hate charlton at the moment!
    as for last season, i banned myself!
  • Hopefully sense will prevail... water off a ducks back.
  • Whatever happened to freedom of speech? I knew nothing of this and find it almost unbelievable. Its an absolute disgrace. I hope that football fans in general can help in this situation its outragous.
  • I think everyone at Charlton and connected to Charlton are great and anything I may have said in the past which did not reaffirm this should be disregarded as an unfortunate mistake, which i will never repeat. LOL.
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  • Bloody outrageous imo, if so they will need all the support they can get.
  • [cite]Posted By: RedArmySE7[/cite]Whatever happened to freedom of speech? I knew nothing of this and find it almost unbelievable. Its an absolute disgrace. I hope that football fans in general can help in this situation its outragous.
    Sadly, in these days of litigation lunacy, this is certainly not a wind-up. I have been following this since I saw it on another board I go on and think its utterly disgraceful. Quite apart from the obvious implications vis free speech, Sheffield Wenesday have to be utterly insane to take a number of their own fans (vocal fans as well, I might add) to court because they don't like the content of what they MIGHT have said. Then again, I understand that the current Hillsbrough board of directors is not exactly as well-loved as ours, so they may think they have nothing to lose.

    Related to this, I saw an advert today that made me almost physically ill - it was one of those ambulance-chasing ads but with a new twist - they wanted to hear from parents whose children had suffered accidents in the past. I seriously thought it was a comedy sketch at one point, before the wife told me she'd seen it earlier on today
  • Well said Leroy,
    BLOODY MAD WORLD WE LIVE IN.
  • Its a bit like Marks & Sparks sueing you for saying that you don't like their underwear. This has to be the most spectacular own goal ever scored by a football club. Clearly the directors are beleagured and this has created a siege mentality. It has no upside as far as I can work out.

    One of the main defences to a defamation suit is "fair comment". From what I've read all these comments would fall within that. It's just scare tactics but it should be faced down. Isn't this something that the Football Supporters Association ought to be taking up (if it still exists).
  • that is just plan crazy

    All fans should back the Weds 40 and boycott the club
  • If every wednesday fan backed these poor bastards and boycotted the games/ground they'd soon change their tune.
  • we've got sheff wed away on tuesday 12th feb , we should all boycott the fixture (will anyone notice);-)
  • I'm worried now. Pards might be coming after me...
  • [cite]Posted By: F-Blocker[/cite]My memory is a bit shite, but wasn't there a case back in the Net Addicks days about a poster one of the other Rivals forums being sued by a club director (may even have been the chairman) for defamation? I seem to remember plenty of posts getting deleted/censored in case Trevor was cited for having anything "dodgy" on the NA board.

    It's a good job we (mostly!) behave ourselves on CL!

    Youre right mate. It was on the Coventry Rivals MB and he was sued by the then Chairman.........Not sure of the outcome.
  • I thought that if a MB was monitored, i.e. has a Moderator, then its the job of the MB to remove such posts as its a question of freedom of speech. Its is therefore the MB and the Moderator that get sued and not the person who posted it.
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  • [cite]Posted By: Charlton Dan[/cite]I thought that if a MB was monitored, i.e. has a Moderator, then its the job of the MB to remove such posts as its a question of freedom of speech. Its is therefore the MB and the Moderator that get sued and not the person who posted it.

    Its a very grey area, which is why i always ask people to consider when posting accusations, alleged incidents, and things that could be classed as slightly slanderous. Criticism is fine though :-)
  • cc my solicitor

    I'd like to make it clear that i regard Marcus Bent, Andy Faye and Jerome Thomas as model professionals. I'd also like to congratulate Darren Ambrose on the birth of his 1st child, i admire you for your manliness.

    Santa
  • edited September 2007
    FFS don't any one worry about anything they have ever said about CAFC or any other football club be, it Chelsea or Man U or AC or Barca or Inter etc.
    You can say what you want about every club, board, team,consortium,whatever!!! It doesn't matter. You can express any opinion you like about any PLC's running of any company or private co running anything.
    Do not not be fooled. You can say what you like as these so called Sheff Wed fans are probably just frauds, trying to make a name for themselves.
    If this were for real it would bankrupt Hansen, Lawrenson, Shearer, Wright, Dixon, Marsh, Smith, Kamara, Nicoholas, Merson, Estate of Best, Mullerey, Hill, Woolnough, Green, Glanville, Custis, Newbond, Mc Glarry, Syomonds et al!
    Speak up commrade! Speak out against your board of directors WHEN they cock up!
    BUT: Love 'em when they get it right.
    Nov 14th - Dec 24th the board in my opinion acted like TURKEYS! AND I QUOTE:

    "SANTA Clueless Les Reed was sacked after rewarding Charlton's turkeys with a festive party 48 hours after their Carling Cup disgrace and then giving them Christmas Day OFF.

    Les Miserable's 41-day reign, the shortest in Premiership history, was brutally cut short on Christmas Eve when chairman Richard Murray and chief executive Peter Varney decided Reed's diffident response to crisis was the last straw.

    Only last week, Varney and Murray had pledged to stand by 53-year-old Reed after Charlton were humiliated at home by League Two underdogs Wycombe.

    However, instead of cracking the whip, Reed was a soft touch"

    NOT MY WORDS BUT THOSE OF MIKE WALTERS OF THE DAILY MIRROR. I AGREE WITH EVERY ONE WORD HE SAID.
    COME ON!!!!! SUE ME!!!!!!
    ALAN PARDEW'S RED AND WHITE ARMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    GET A EFFIN LIFE!!!!

    ANY DECENT JUDGE WOULD THROUGH OUT ANY SUCH CASE ON THE BASIS OF WASTING PUBLIC MONEY.
  • !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • I can believe this though.
    I know how football clubs read & take on comments made on football message boards.
    You've only got to get a board under pressure ( a la Sheff Weds) & they will pursue anything/anyone to deflect criticism away from themselves for what their club is going through.
  • Update on this, as its coming to court soon....

    LAWYERS for Sheffield Wednesday football club are planning more legal action – this time against a lifelong fan for displaying the Owls badge outside his business.
    Wednesdayite Steve Harrison has incorporated the famous Owls motif into the sign outside his snooker club – Trickshots on Bradfield Road at Hillsborough Corner.

    He insists it's his way of showing support for the club, and says the logo has been part of his sign for five years without a word of complaint.

    But Wednesday bosses claim he's breaking their copyright and have given him 14 days to remove the badge. They say failure to do so will result in legal proceedings.

    The threatened action comes only days after the club's legal team went to the High Court to demand the names of anonymous fans who criticised the club on an internet chatroom. A judge is yet to rule on whether Neil Hargreaves, owner of website www.owlstalk.co.uk, will be forced to reveal the identities of fans accused of making libellous postings.

    Yesterday The Star reported Sheffield Wednesday lawyers have issued another writ to try to force the BBC to reveal the email addresses of fans who wrote into a forum using pseudonyms.

    Today Steve, aged 35, from Hillsborough said: "I have been a Wednesdayite all my life and I put the club badge up there for no other reason than to show my support for the club I love.

    "It's been up there for five years without a problem and now I am told to take it down."

    The ex-snooker professional was in hospital when the letter threatening legal action was sent to his premises.

    He said: "I have been quite ill recently and this has made me feel even worse.

    "Of course I will take the sign down – I really can't afford to have this dragged through the courts. But it just seems so petty and I am sure the club, with all the problems they face at the moment, would be better served doing something other than suing their biggest fans."

    Sheffield Wednesday spokesman Trevor Braithwait said: "The logo is our trademark and we are always looking to protect that trademark."

    Fellow fans have rallied round in support for Steve.

    One, who did not want to be named, said: "I have the club badge tattooed on my arm. To ask Steve to take the badge down is like asking me to have my arm amputated – it's just plain crazy."

    Another said Steve was one of an "ever-decreasing number of people standing by the club in these dark times".

    He said: "Many have already drifted away. What is the harm of having an Owls motif around the place?"
  • This stuff would have been rejected by DreamTeam script writers for being too far fetched....
  • Hope CAFC don't ever notice my number plates !
  • All sorts of things are said every day on message boards that are potentially libellous, but to reach court the litigant has to have sufficient motivation and sufficient resources to get it there, which is why most libels are not tested in court.

    I doubt if it's a "waste of public money" as you can't get legal aid for libel and costs would be awarded one way or the other.

    Truth is an absolute defence in libel cases, but it is not a good idea to make assertions that you cannot substantiate or make derogatory statements with a hostile agenda, as motivation can aggravate the offence. Unless either of these is true in the case of the Wednesday fans, it's very unlikely the threats would be followed up with action and very unlikely Wednesday would win if they were, as any reasonable jury would throw them out.
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