Expert verdict on whether Jayden Harris committed ‘criminal act’ after Fulham courtroom update
Former Fulham star Jayden Harris should not be punished for his career-ending tackle on ex-Swansea City youngster Jordan Jones as intent is impossible to prove.
That is the view of injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.
Jones, now 23, has not played professionally since the incident in an under 18s game on 10 December 2016 caused irreparable damage to his ankle.
The challenge from Jones, now 22 and playing for Aldershot Town, was not deemed a foul by the referee at the time.
Per Global Legal Chronicle last Thursday (26 May), Fulham have successfully overturned a court ruling that found they we liable for Harris’ tackle.
Jones’ representatives had originally argued that Harris’ actions in 2016 amounted to negligence.
Dinnery acknowledged the complicated nature of the case but claimed a tackle’s consequences should not determine a player’s punishment.
“It’s a very, very difficult one,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“It’s very subjective. In this particular case, it was an issue where he won the ball. It was initially deemed non-reckless. The referee did not give a free kick. It was the follow-through that caused the damage.
“When the rules were drawn up, there was never any consideration with civil liability. There isn’t that structure within the laws of the game.
“It’s a very sad situation. However, the punishment can’t be determined by the severity of the injury. I haven’t seen the incident itself, but they had expert witnesses looking at the tackle. It’s a question of how to measure intent.
“In this instance, no one could say he went out to deliberately hurt the player. He went in hard but cleanly.
“The issue that the player brought was that just because the official hasn’t deemed it a foul, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a criminal act.
“We have got this definition of serious foul play. But even with the introduction of VAR, there is still a grey area. Ultimately, there is only one person who can know if they went out to hurt someone, and that is the player themself.
“The worry is if this case was successful, does that then open the floodgates? We hear a lot of people saying football is becoming a non-contact sport as it is. Maybe the laws of the game need to be tweaked slightly to incorporate this.”
In other news, Hull City plot move to sign Jean Michael Seri after Fulham news.