Black, or so the story goes... A bit bizzare this one. A former Gillingham FC player was unfairly sacked because he is black, a landmark tribunal has ruled. Ex-striker Mark McCammon took the club to a tribunal for race discrimination after being dismissed for gross misconduct last year. Now the 33-year-old's case against his former club has been upheld by an Ashford employment tribunal, which decided he had been dismissed as an act of racial victimisation. The Gills have released a statement saying they are "hugely disappointed" and "staggered" by the decision and will be discussing the judgement with their lawyers. McCammon, a former Barbados international, signed for the club in 2008 before being sacked for gross misconduct in 2011. He took the Gills to the tribunal for unfair dismissal, breach of contract, race victimisation and failure to pay wages. Witness statements revealed the bitter row came to a head in November 2010 with an extraordinary confrontation with manager Andy Hessenthaler in which the striker accused the then Gills boss and first team coach Nicky Southall of being racist. Gillingham's Priestfield stadium A statement from Gillingham said: "Today we have received the decision of the Ashford Employment Tribunal which sets out their findings that Mark McCammon was unfairly dismissed and that his dismissal was an act of racial victimisation. "We are hugely disappointed, in fact staggered, by this decision. As an organisation we are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate against, nor victimise our staff. "This case is the first of its kind to be brought against the club in its entire history, a history that has seen the club employ many thousands of staff of various race, religion and creed, none of whom have ever felt the need to bring such a claim. "Given the nature of the case, and the findings, we will discuss the judgement with our lawyers and decide upon the next course of action, whether that be an appeal against the findings, or another form of action, as deemed appropriate. "There will be no further comment on the case by the club until the matter has run its full course." Monday, July 30 2012 http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/2012/july/30/gills_tribunal.aspx
Hard to comment without seeing the case being presented, but I would be very surprised if this is the correct ruling.
