pled guilty today and received a ?300 fine for possession of cocaine.  not too sure of all the details yet but the judge accepted that it was a one off and an error of judgement.  i'm sure this has been a big lesson for him - one that will never be repeated.

i for one hope the club stand by him....

*Decision postponed till next week*

Postponed again!!

I was hoping this saga would finally be resolved one way or another today.

On the face of it Richie is getting a very fair hearing so a delay helps natural justice prevail if not satisfying some people's desire for a quick resolution.

Richie may well retain his job but he will need to be strong. Rossco came in for severe abuse from the Aberdeen fans last week. Then scored an own goal. This will be a massive test of character for Richie if re-instated.

Postponed again!!

I was hoping this saga would finally be resolved one way or another today.

It takes as long as it takes !!! At the end of the day, whichever option any of us favour, it IS a mans career and livelihood we are talking about and it is only right that the club look at everything as many times as they need to as well as listening to the player in private.

Fair play to the club for giving him a good hearing etc but I still fear the worse for his career. If the club have their rules of contract set in stone then they have not choice. Bending them would, perhaps, open the door for others to misbehave. I think they'll have to be very careful here. I know for a fact that if it was me and my job I'd be out - no questions asked.

Yet again.......signs of weakness from the club on stretching their own impossed deadlines. Did the same with Dargo and now Ritchie. Fekin PUSSIES are in charge at ICT! :020: :020:

Yet again.......signs of weakness from the club on stretching their own impossed deadlines. Did the same with Dargo and now Ritchie. Fekin PUSSIES are in charge at ICT! :020: :020:

I have been pretty critical of some aspects of the club in recent weeks but on this occasion, I cannot criticise them in the slightest for taking their time and trying to get things right. Not only are the dealing with the future (?) career and livelihood of one of our players but if they decide to terminate his contract, release him or whatever, they will also be dealing with making sure they have followed all the proper procedures under employment laws and that can be a bit of a minefield.

As for deadlines .... The club DID NOT set a deadline ... at least not publicly. They issued one press release that said they wouldnt comment until the matter was resolved and the media have done the rest.

This is what the Courier said .... "Hart has already been suspended on full pay from training and playing with the club until further notice, although a decision by the board is expected next week, when manager Craig Brewster, who is on an SFA course in Largs, and vice-chairman Graeme Bennet, who is on holiday, return to the club." ....

or the P&J .... "Caley Thistle, meanwhile have delayed a decision on the future of midfielder Richie Hart. It was expected that the club would decide today whether to retain or release the player. His contract runs out at the end of the season."

no club statement, just paper speculation, and similar stories appeared elsewhere, none of which have had any official comment

..... but what the ****, lets just make the decision today so we can please or piss off a few people on CaleyThistleOnline  :tic01:

It's a hugely important decision which could have aprofound effect on Richie's future.

Much better that the club come to the right decision rather than a quick one.

That said, I'm sure the player himself is more anxious to learn his fate than anyone.

There are undoubtedly legal and contract issue involved from both sides. Rush it and you just end up in more of a feckin mess. Dot all the i's and cross all the t's and nothing can come back to haunt you.

Take as long as you like but get it right - for both the club and Richie.

If richie goes it may require financial considerations - if he stays the contract could be a lengthy document with a lot of stipulations and boundaries.

And still this saga drags on and on and on. Dont care what anyone says..........it does not take this long to sort such matters out! Christ....there are murder trials resolved quicker than this!

In this day and age of Employment Law etc., every i has to be dotted and every t to be crossed before the outcome is revealed.

For as long as it takes, Richie is still on the payroll and he could be glad of that income.  In my very humble and, to some, mediocre employment, the contract states that gross misconduct results in dismissal - Richie's admission in court would be considered gross misconduct and I would have been dismissed on the day of the Court case, or the day following, if I had been found in similar circumstances to Richie.  My salary would have ceased on the day of the Court.  Many jobs, whether low or high profile, have similar codes of conduct and a professional footballer would appear to be no different - just more highly paid and more in the public eye.

We all await the outcome - whatever it may be and how long it takes to get the decision right for everyone involved.

Gross Misconduct is the employment equivalent of Breach of the peace law. It is area that that can be wide ranging and can be manipulated to suit. Regardles of your job, all employment contracts will have this Gross Misconduct clause in it. I am in agreement with you....the minute he pleaded guilty in court of possesion (despite his misguided and naive claim that he thought it was the best thing to do, rather than go to trial)...well in my book, that would be reason enough to sack him on the grounds of Gross Misconduct.

Even of the club had acted without taking advice, i dont think there is a court in the land that would say they didnt have grounds to sack him.

I think the problem might be the on season/off season  onduty/off duty situation thing.

From my limited knowledge, your contract covers you 9-5, then if you do anything in your "leisure time" the circumstances and consquences are completely different.

In the same respect, Richie was out of season, not representing the club "officially", and it could technically be defined as "leisure time", which makes things far less clear cut.

Mrs Pauliebee you make a good point.

Unless of course the club feels that employment with ICT means that they have the right to rule your life in all it's public and private parts amd methinks we have not yet quite reached that stage in society yet despite thousands of cameras on posts in the streets of London etc. Governments and "Authorities" poke their noses into far too many aspects of your life from the Birth Certificate demanded upon entry to the death certificate upon exit and more often than not their hand is going into your pocket at the same time.

But if they do they might be on very sticky ground.

Mr Hart is a young man , not an oldie but Goodie like Jock Watt or the S.P. and some other folks on here. And he does not have the benefit of the years of experience with which we have become endowed. Not to mention the pain resulting from our stupid decisions and past mistakes.

So if they do not offer help in the way of rehabilitation and  a second chance with conditions I will feel that they are making the wrong decision.

:029:

I think the problem might be the on season/off season  onduty/off duty situation thing.

From my limited knowledge, your contract covers you 9-5, then if you do anything in your "leisure time" the circumstances and consquences are completely different.

In the same respect, Richie was out of season, not representing the club "officially", and it could technically be defined as "leisure time", which makes things far less clear cut.

Does that mean any crimnal offences carried out in the holidays would not be subject to disciplinary action. Maybe some of the players could kick feck out of some of the so called fans on here, as long as they did it in their own time, wouldn't be a problem. :015:

Maybe some of the players could kick feck out of some of the so called fans on here, as long as they did it in their own time, wouldn't be a problem. :015:

I am sure they would be up for that  :003:

Rightly or wrongly, the club would have a very good argument that Harts actions have caused them professional embarrassment, regardless of where and when the offense took place.  This would, in my experience, be sufficient reason for them to expel him on the basis of misconduct.

For those of you out there who have a Gross Misconduct clause in your contract of employment, you would do well to read it very closely as I would be almost certain that it also covers your actions outside working hours.

Am wi CaleyD on this. Hart brought the Teams name into disrepute. Also.......i for one dont belive Hart was unlucky enuff to be caught the very first time he handled/abused the substance.

Subsequent to my previous post, no matter when the alleged offence was  committed, in my own employment, (not in any way high profile like SPL) if I was charged with committing any offence, whether within working hours, or outwith normal working hours or on leave for any reason, (annual, sick, compassionate, etc) being charged with an offence was enough to be considered "gross misconduct",  resulting in dismissal.  The contract stated this and was agreed on appointment.

Whether an employee is within hours of work, or on holiday or whatever, he/she is still within employment and can be considered to have brought the employer within the realms of "disrepute" if the actions are deemed to attract the attention of the appropriate Authorities.

I would have assumed that the terms of employment contracts for all ICT Staff and Players covered such instances. 

All employees should carefully check their contracts of employment in order that they are aware that any actions, whether within working hours or outwith, may affect their terms of employment.

internal disciplinary measures and returns to training today.

good decision in my view....

(tin hat on)

Confirmed on the Official Site

I really thought he'd be shown the door but a decisions been made and hopefully that'll be the end of the matter.

Whether he gets another game is open to debate. Guess it depends if he's one of the mangers favourites or not  :023:

Fair play to the club. Like many, I swayed first one way then the other and then back again and repeated this several times. At the end of the day, his employers have (finally) made a decision, he has been subject to workplace disciplinary measures, and the matter is now over.

I hope he has learned a huge lesson and I hope that ICT fans will now get behind him, give him a second chance because if he ever does get on the park again in an ICT strip he's gonna get dogs abuse from our opponents' supporters ........

Excellent, and sensible decision by the club. :022:

Hopefully Richie can now put all this behind him and get back to what he's good at. On his day, he's a fantastic player, and I'd love to see him now take this opportunity he's been given and force his way back into the first team.

Oh well, why start a new thread I thought, I'll search for the old one :015:

Yes I agree Davie, I also thought he would be shown the door, but reasoning has prevailed and he looks like he will be staying, good decision, lets hope it is a lesson learned for all.