MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City must pay former player Benjamin Mendy the majority of his 11-million-pound ($14.15 million) claim for unpaid wages that were withheld after he was charged with sex offences, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Mendy took Premier League champion City to a two-day employment tribunal in Manchester, claiming the club wrongly stopped his salary after he was charged and remanded into custody in August 2021.
Mendy was cleared by a jury of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, relating to four young women or teenagers, following a six-month trial. Jurors failed to reach verdicts on two counts, of rape and attempted rape, leading to a retrial, during which he was found not guilty.
Mendy had denied the charges and said the incidents were consensual encounters.
Joanne Dunlop, the tribunal judge, ruled that City was entitled to withhold Mendy’s money when he was remanded in custody due to breaching bail conditions.
But she said there was nothing in Mendy’s contract that permitted City to withhold his wages in the event of a suspension by the English Football Association and/or bail conditions preventing him from playing.
During the periods when Mendy was not in custody, he was unable to play primarily because he had been suspended by the FA. The judge ruled the nature of that suspension was “precautionary” and there were no findings of misconduct made by the governing body.
The judge concluded the suspension was an impediment to him fulfilling his contract to train and play for City, which was “involuntary” or “unavoidable” on Mendy’s part. She said Mendy’s bail conditions were influenced, at least indirectly, by the FA suspension and were themselves an involuntary or unavoidable impediment.
The club was, therefore, not entitled to withhold his pay in those instances, the judge said.
The total amount to which Mendy is entitled has yet to be agreed by his lawyers and City.
Former France international Mendy joined City from Monaco in 2017, sustained knee ligament damage in only his fourth game for the club, which kept him out for the majority of the season.
He made 75 appearances for the club. His last was against Tottenham in August 2021.
Mendy now plays for French club Lorient.
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The Associated Press
