City directors suffer Royle blues

MANCHESTER CITY’S directors have vowed to fight the £422,000 pay-out to sacked boss Joe Royle.

Royle won his compensation case after his dismissal following the club’s relegation in May 2001.

Royle, in charge at Ipswich, sued the club claiming he received only a fraction of the pay-off he was due.

A judgment at Manchester Crown Court yesterday concluded City were a Premiership club at the time of Royle’s dismissal, so he was entitled to a higher sum than the £150,000 he received.

The judgment hinged on whether City had returned their Premier League certificate prior to Royle’s departure, which they had not.

Royle issued a statement after the verdict, saying City’s treatment of him was “scandalous and unwarranted”.