Football hopeful to sue Hibs for £1m over tackle

Rangers and Scotland youth player Craig McShea broke his leg when he was tackled by Lee Currie of Hibs three years ago.

McShea claims the tackle ruined his chances of playing top-flight football and cost him a fortune in lost earnings.

He is demanding compensation from Hibs, arguing they are liable for Currie's actions on the pitch.

At the time of the clash, McShea, 20, from Paisley, was a striker with Rangers' under-19 team and had been picked for the Scottish national youth team.

Midfielder Currie, 21, from Edinburgh, had scored two goals for Scotland under-19s and was hopeful of one day winning a permanent place in the Easter Road first team.

Both players were on the field when Rangers and Hibs youth teams played at Newtongrange, Midlothian, in May 2008.

According to match reports, McShea and Currie clashed just 15 minutes into the game. McShea was left writhing in agony and had to be stretchered off the pitch and taken to hospital by ambulance.

Currie was immediately sent off for the tackle and, despite being a man down, Rangers went on to win the game 5-1.

McShea never fully recovered and left Rangers the following May. He has now launched a legal action against Hibs in the Court of Session, suing the club over the alleged conduct of his opponent.

It is understood his lawyers are arguing Hibs are responsible for the injury that ruined his career and robbed him of lucrative future earnings.

Footballers' earnings vary dramatically but some first-team Old Firm squad members have attracted average annual salaries of around 900,000 in recent years, with some players spending more than a decade in the higher ranks.

McShea, who was progressing towards a career at the highest levels of the game, declined to comment on the legal action, but his lawyers Bonnar and Co confirmed it was going ahead.

A spokeswoman said: "The sum sued for at the moment is a relatively modest sum. It is really too early in the proceedings for us to make an accurate prediction regarding Craig's losses."

However, sources at Hibs have said the compensation being demanded is in the region of 1m.

McShea started his career as a youth player with Ayr United in 2003, moved to Livingston the following year, and then signed a youth form with Rangers. That was upgraded to a contract in the 2006-07 season.

During his time in Scotland's youth team, he played Belgium, Wales, England, Sweden, Armenia and Malta.

Currie's dreams of footballing stardom have also failed to materialise, although he is still playing. His contract with Hibs expired in December and was not renewed by manager Colin Calderwood. He is currently on trial at Berwick Rangers.At his home in Leith, Currie said he had not heard about the court action. He said: "It's news to me. It was a long time ago now. It was a 50-50 challenge. I feel for the guy."

A spokesman for Hibs said: "It would be inappropriate for the club to comment on this matter at this time."

One litigation expert said last night that cases such as McShea's were rare and could be difficult to prove.

Legal director at DLA Piper, Ray Gribben, said: "In the past it was more likely to be accepted that this was just part of the rough and tumble of the game. However, given recent English cases, I suspect we will see more cases of this type and in Scotland too."

He added: "One difficulty in these sorts of cases is obtaining truly objective witness evidence. Witnesses are often other players or fans, who of course have affiliations to one side or the other."

The only player believed to have brought a case to court is former Celtic star Paul Elliott, who was named Scottish Footballer of the Year in 1991 before a 1.4m move to Chelsea. In September 1992, Elliott sustained a serious knee injury, resulting from a challenge by Liverpool's Dean Saunders. He never played again and, on 10 May, 1994, Elliott announced his retirement after failing to recover from the injury.

After his retirement, Elliott filed a lawsuit against Saunders seeking damages for the career-ending injury. He lost the case when a civil court found that Saunders was not at fault.