Football: Matters become murkier for Bucker

Published: Sat 18 Jun 2016, 10:14 PM

Last updated: Sun 19 Jun 2016, 12:16 AM

Matters have become more murkier with two Arabian Gulf League clubs Dibba Al Fujairah and Emirates claiming they have a contract with Theo Bucker and will seek clarifications from the German.
The 67-year-old, who joined Dibba last season, guided them to a 10th place finish in the season gone by which led to interest from other clubs. But Dibba announced last Saturday that they had renewed his contract for another season.
But Emirates, who just about avoided the drop by finishing 12th, too announced on Friday that they had signed a contract with Bucker for one season.
Dibba said that they are yet to speak to Bucker, who is on holiday in Germany at the moment, and added that if the news was true, the club would take legal action.
"The club management renewed the contract for one more season with Theo Bucker and finalised the financial terms and agreed upon it. But few days later, the club was surprised to learn that he had signed a contract with Emirates. Emirates had announced the news on their website and it came as a shock to the Dibba club management," Juma, Dibba Al Fujairah's Media Manager, told the Khaleej Times on Saturday
"So far, we haven't spoken to Theo Bucker. We will verify if the news is true. If it is indeed true, we will take legal action against Mr. Bucker. And we will also seek an alternative coach," he added.
Meanwhile, Emirates said they had signed a contract with Bucker, which meant Paulo Comelli's three-year reign had come to an end.
"Mr. Bucker is right now in Germany and the club spoke to him over the phone and offered him to sign a contract with us. He expressed his approval so Emirates sent him the contract to Germany and he studied the contract and its terms and he signed the contract and sent it back to us. The contract is for one season," Khaled Al Naqbi, Emirates Media Manager, told the Khaleej Times.
"If he renewed the contract with Dibba Al Fujairah, he didn't tell us about it. We had asked him if he had a valid contract with any club and he said no. We expect him to be back in the UAE next week and we will seek a clarification from him," he added.
When told that Dibba Al Fujairah could take legal action against Bucker, Khaled Al Naqbi said that they have every right to do so. "If Dibba have a contract, they have every right to take legal action," he said.
james@khaleejtimes.com