The “Collett effect”: increasing risk of litigation in football for injury to players

In this blog, Adam Lovatt highlights a case in the High Court, where Nottingham Forrest striker Dexter Blackstock is seeking damages from Cardiff City and their player Seyi Olofinjana.

The name Ben Collett may not mean a lot to many readers whilst the name Alf-Inge Haaland might. Collett was playing in a reserve team match for Manchester United against Middlesbrough in 2003 and five years later was awarded over £4m in damages (paid out by insurers) as a result of a tackle which broke his leg in two places during the match and forced him to retire from football.

Haaland suffered a knee injury following a tackle from Roy Keane whilst playing for Manchester City during a Manchester derby in 2001, which Keane later admitted in his autobiography was a pre-meditated tackle. No court action was pursued by Manchester City or Haaland despite the tackle and later admission by Irishman.