Jonas Gutierrez has won a disability discrimination claim against the club after being dropped as a result of his battle with testicular cancer.
The former Newcastle United midfielder sued the Premier League Club after managers told him he would no longer feature in the club's future just two months after he underwent surgery, Daily Mail reports.
Gutierrez launched his claim under the Equality Act 2010, which makes it unlawful to discriminate against workers because of mental or physical disability, and considers a cancer diagnosis to be a disability. Further claims of unfavorable treatment and any other forms of harassment related to disability were dismissed. A further hearing will decide the amount of compensation the player will receive, The Sun has learned.
The 32-year-old Argentinian footballer was considered as one of the most valuable players in the first team squad, Gutierrez admitted he was shocked at the sudden change of heart towards him. Gutierrez told the Goal, "I think they feared that my illness would mean that I could no longer play at the highest level and they considered me to be a liability rather than an asset to the club.
I got the impression that they thought I couldn't be the same player again after such an illness or that I would be bound to have lingering effects or other episodes of illness off the back of it. This caused me a lot of distress given my hard work and commitment for the club in the preceding five and half years."
Jonas Gutierrez was diagnosed with cancer in October 2013, about six months after he first noticed pain in his left testicle. His left testicle was removed before returning to play for Newcastle two weeks later in November 2013. He has recently revealed that he paid for his own treatment and diagnosis and he felt that the club had treated him poorly after his recovery.
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