13-Year Old Reading Fan Sues Club Over ‘Sigurdsson’ Replica Shirt And Wins

Chris Wright

10th, March 2011

13 Comments

By Chris Wright

Picture the scene;  a young Reading fan by the name of Jon McGhee decides to spend £42’s worth of his 13th-birthday money on a replica shirt adorned with the name of his favourite player – Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Three months later, Sigurdsson is sold to Hoffenheim despite signing a new contract with the Royals and the club indicating that the midfielder would be staying put regardless of the swirling transfer rumours.

Little Jonny wasn’t happy, so he (or, more accurately, his father James) sued the club’s arse. We’ll let the Reading Post take up the story:

“When Sigurdsson left Mr McGhee (Jon’s father) asked for a refund but was refused. He wrote to the club and was further refused. He then started a small claim and the club settled out of court, paying him £72 to include court costs.

“Last spring Gylfi Sigurdsson had signed a new contract and the McGhees argued the club had indicated he would stay.

“Mr McGhee, who first got interested in the club around eight years ago through family connections in Shinfield, said:

“For anybody else in the same position who feels equally aggrieved, this just shows it is well worth pursuing it. It shows what can be done if you are prepared to fight your corner.”

Yeah, fight the power James. Don’t let the bastards grind you down!

In fact, Reading confirmed that they only settled because they couldn’t be bothered to travel to Middlesbrough (the McGhee’s hometown) to attend court.

Shirt-burners of this world, take note – all it takes is a completely asinine, ridiculously far flung and utterly baseless court case for you to get your money handed back.

Just think how many cans of Lynx and boxes of Bryant and May (the arsonist’s choice of match) £72 will buy you.

Posted in Championship, Kits & fashion

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13 Comments

  1. CFC_Jay says:

    what a farce!! Couldnt they just take the name off the back of the shirt?? I assume the replica is still current!!! Bloody “where there is blame there is a claim” culture!!!

  2. this is why you buy a shirt for the club, not the player

  3. Nicko says:

    lol fuckoff McGhee, shit happens

  4. alfie says:

    I prefer getting my own name on the shirt

  5. joebhoy says:

    Well done to the wee guy i say,,i bought my son a celtic strip last year & he wanted fox on the back off it,so got it printed but the guy in the celtic shop said he had made a slight mistake so we wouldnt be charged for it ,,even though i couldnt see any mistake i was more than happy- being a tight scotsman,,
    then the next week we go & sell fox who had only been at the club 6 months,,i think the celtic shop staff knew more then they let on to be honest,hence the non charging of the printing.

  6. Fredmeister says:

    Ha!!!

  7. says:

    Most clubs’ online stores have a statement at the bottom of their pages concerning kit numbers, stating that while the numbers are current, there’s no guarantee that a player won’t leave or change his number at some point. Apparently Reading forgot to put one up, either that or they bought the shirt the analog way.
    Had they waited until after he left he could have gotten the shirt half price

  8. Pete says:

    Reminds me of childhood. When I was about 10 years old, my dad bought me a Werder Bremen Mario Basler shirt. A few weeks later Bayern Munich signed him. I was pissed. ;D

  9. Pete says:

    Reminds me of childhood. When I was about 10 years old, my dad bought a Werder Bremen Mario Basler shirt for my birthday. A few weeks later Bayern Munich signed him. I was pissed. ;D

  10. rogerscorch says:

    I hope this child is now barred from the ground. His Dad must be a barrel of laughs. twats.

  11. chimpo says:

    all those chumps who thought torres would never leave their precious liverpool may be feeling sometihng similar

    actually on reflection they may be happy now he’s a sack of shite

    im confused!

  12. QueerAsFuß says:

    D³- That’s interesting to know! I’m guessing that will stop there from being a flood of similar suits despite a precedent beeing set.

    So if we can go after our clubs now….hmmm….as a Schalke04 fan I think I’m owed pain and suffering. :P

  13. […] At the end of the season, Sigurdsson was awarded Reading’s Player of the Year and was coveted by many top clubs. Despite having signed a new 3-year contract for the club in March, Sigurdsson opted to join Bundesliga club Hoffenheim in the summer for £6.5 million. Amazingly, the transfer prompted one young Royals fan to sue him having got Gylfi’s name and number on the back of his shirt assumi… […]

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