Jonas Gutierrez suing Mike Ashley’s Newcastle United for £2m
Footballer Jonas Gutierrez is suing former club Newcastle United for £2m over the way he was treated following his battle with testicular cancer.
The Argentine winger, 32, has made a claim for disability discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 after he was released by the Premier League club last summer.
He claims that his illness was the reason behind former manager Alan Pardew telling him he was no longer in Newcastle's plans in December 2013 – two months after his cancer diagnosis.
Gutierrez also alleges that Newcastle purposefully did not start him in games last season to avoid a year extension clause in his contract which would have been triggered had he made 80 starts.
He finished with 78 starts and scored a crucial goal in a final day win over West Ham that kept Newcastle in the Premier League.
The lawsuit marks another potential headache for Newcastle owner Mike Ashley following his dispute with MPs on the Commons business committee who have called on him to give evidence in parliament about how his workers in Sports Direct are treated.