Footballer wins tribunal for being dropped after cancer

Jonás Gutiérrez, a former Newcastle United footballer who now plays for Spanish side Deportivo La Coruña, was dropped by his team because of his cancer diagnosis, an employment tribunal has found.

He is suing for £2million on the grounds of disability discrimination. A remedy hearing will address the issue of compensation at a later date.

Gutiérrez was diagnosed with testicular cancer in October 2013 and had played regularly for Newcastle United up to that point, but upon his return to the team he was told he was no longer a part of their plans, which resulted in him being unable to trigger an automatic one-year contract extension when a certain amount of games played was reached.

The ruling stated that: “[Gutiérrez] had maintained his place in the starting line-up without difficulty for five years.