Swansea striker Wilfried Bony wins latest round in £8million legal dispute with former agents
Ivory Coast hitman claims they received the cash in 'secret commissions' from Swansea during his first spell in Wales
SWANSEA striker Wilfried Bony has won the latest round in a bitter £8million legal battle with his two former agents.
Bony claims that Gilbert Kacou and Dalibor Lacina — plus companies they ran — received the cash in “secret commissions” from the Welsh club.
The case arises from a period between July 2013 and February 2015 when the agents were involved in his contract negotiations.
He also accuses Kacou of “fraudulent or negligent misrepresentation”.
The agents asked a judge to halt the litigation saying the dispute should be settled by arbitration under FA rules.
Bony objected and said there was no arbitration agreement.
Judge Mark Pelling refused to halt the litigation, ruling in favour of the 28-year-old Ivory Coast international after a High Court hearing in Manchester.
The judge published a written judgement on Monday after analysing evidence in July.
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Bony joined Swansea for a club record £12million from Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem in July 2013 before moving to Manchester City 18 months later.
He was on loan at Stoke City last season and rejoined Swansea City last week.
Judge Pelling said Bony had taken legal action against Mr Kacou, Mr Lacina, two companies they ran and Swansea after complaining about “secret commissions”.
But the judge said only the two agents and the two companies they ran featured in the latest stage of the fight.
He said lawyers representing the agents and the two companies had asked him to halt the litigation.
