Post by QPR Report on Jun 17, 2009 6:32:23 GMT
Telegraph - Hull City chairman has driving ban overturned because of transfer fears
The chairman of Hull City Football Club, Paul Duffen, has had a six-month driving ban overturned after a court ruled he would suffer undue hardship because not being able to drive to see players could cost him vital transfers.
Hull Crown Court removed the ban put in place in May for breaking the speed limit in his £90,000 Aston Martin so he can use his car in the summer transfer window to sign players.
A judge accepted Paul Duffen could afford to pay two drivers from his £20,000 a month salary but it would not be practical and would present a risk of breach of confidentiality in transfer negotiation.
With no transport of his own, Duffen told Hull Crown Court his pivotal role in transfer negotiations meant he could chase an agent from Hull to the south coast in the morning and then fly off to Holland in the evening from an airport. He said he covered 30,000 miles a year and at the moment was working 18-hours a day seven days a week. A speed camera clocked Duffen, a married father-of-three, travelling at 55mph - 15mph over the limit - on the A63 on December 6 about an hour after City beat Middlesbrough at the KC Stadium.
Mr Duffen already had nine points on his licence, all for speeding offences through 30mph limits dating back to March 2006. He lost it after picking up three points in the "totting up" process taking him to 12 points and an automatic ban.
Duffen said his licence was vital in the transfer window between June and August as securing new players was his primary objective.
His barrister Alan Ross, QC, told the court: "The cost of employing two chauffeurs is not an issue. He plays a pivotal role. He has been dynamic in securing Hull City Premiership status and is vital in maintaining that status. "The financial consequence of relegation last season would be the loss of £20m. At this time of year, over the next three months, it is so important he can operate in the transfer window. Talking in the presence of a driver will be wholly unsuitable."
Mr Duffen told the court: "Confidentiality is paramount and that could not happen if there was someone else there. Any disclosure to the media would render that negotiation baseless. If it was to leak out that I was talking to Manchester United about a player on loan then the damage would be done. Because of the number of parties involved the leak would be untraceable. I cannot talk about players who may or may not be playing for Hull City next season on a mobile phone on a train."
"I am conscious about protecting the current employment of my players. If my life was capable of being conducted in the back of a chauffeur-driven car I would let it happen. But it is not possible."
Duffen confirmed he lived in Surrey but worked in Hull staying over five nights a week away from his wife and children, one aged 11 and twins aged eight.
He said there were at least two occasions when he had to travel for family emergencies early in the morning which a chauffeur could not have covered.
The court heard as well his professional responsibilities in Hull, he had 13 commitments to charities and community groups.
Overturning the magistrates' decision, Judge Michael Mettyear siting with two justices told the court: "I have come to the conclusion there is exceptional hardship in this case. I accept he has a pivotal role at Hull City Football Club
www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/news/5551509/Hull-City-chairman-has-driving-ban-overturned-because-of-transfer-fears.html