Caley Jags "totally vindicated" as Sheriff Court case comes to an end.

Caley Thistle are pleased to plan for the new season with the saga of the Marius Niculae affair finally being successfully ended without the club having to pay compensation.

The hearing at which the player was due to appear in Inverness Sheriff Court has now been discharged and the matter is closed. This follows the club's successful appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport which overturned a FIFA decision which had found that Niculae was due a portion of the 450,000 Euros transfer fee which took him from Inverness to Dinamo Bucharest in August 2008.

Club chairman George Fraser said: "We're extremely pleased to announce final closure on this whole affair. It has been a major distraction for almost three years but the outcome of both cases totally vindicates our stance on the matter. We are pleased we will no longer have to defend ourselves in Inverness in relation to a claim for a signing on fee for a second year of a contract which, as we all know, Marius chose not to fulfil. We appointed Scotland's leading sports lawyers Harper Macleod to represent us in both cases and their contribution has been invaluable."

Having been at Sporting Lisbon, Niculae signed for Caley Thistle in season 2007/08 and this move helped him gain selection for the Romania squad for the 2008 European Championships. But when he returned from the Championships, he refused to go on the club's pre-season tour of Denmark and later appeared on the Dinamo Bucharest website saying he had signed for them.

Mr Fraser said:"Football agents are often criticised, but it is my firm belief that if Marius had a registered agent then this matter would have been concluded back in August 2008. The only winners when matters go to court are the lawyers. Marius chose to go down this route which left us with no option but to defend ourselves against the unfounded accusations. A recognised agent would have very quickly identified the strength of our case and negotiated a sensible conclusion."

Niculae's transfer fee remains a club record.