Whilst Solomona can 'retire' from RL, he can't just walk away from his contract with Cas. It will undoubtedly have restrictions on activities he can pursue whilst under contract to Cas - all pro sports contracts have such clauses.

That doesn't mean he wouldn't win a restriction of employment case in court, but he as an individual won't be able to just walk away without having to at least to a tribunal if Cas want it. Courts have shown previously (see Iestyn Harris) that they do treat sporting contracts differently from standard employment contracts - i.e. they do take some account of the way pro sports work.

In any event, assuming he leaves he should be barred from RL in general until at least the end of his Cas contract, unless Cas reach an agreement.

So you should be.

It must be a good feeling thinking your team could actually achieve something in the year ahead.

Alas, I've never experienced that, well maybe in the late seventies, I digress.

I too think Cas have got a decent chance next season, unless they have another injury year from hell, oh, & the Zac effect, it will either be a master signing or a calamity.

Great post - very incisive.

Could form a very interesting & potentially quite bitter case should Cas &/or the RFL pursue it.

It could be argued that RL & RU are inextricably linked & that the differences between codes are minor & therefore he is not retiring, moreover that Sale are avoiding a transfer fee/proper compensation by surreptitious means.

Of course this is fraught with financial risks & Cas would be wise to try to mediate with Sale for the original transfer fee offered & possibly use the threat of legal action to achieve it.

I do not claim to have any legal knowledge, training or inside info but these look like plausible courses of action IMPOV.

I would have thought as a minimum Denny would have to buy out the remainder of his contract. I'm not an expert in employment law however I know that my job has a 12 week notice period. If I decided to walk out tomorrow my employers can sue me for the value of 12 weeks wages. I'd assume that is similar to his contract. I believe he had 2 years left so to buy it out would cost 2 years wages with Cas holding his RL registration for the next 2 years.

When Rangi decided he wanted to come back, Leigh released his registration (which they had held when he retired). Derek Beaumont released a statement wishing Rangi the best for the future....completely different situation to this.

Im fairly certain he cannot just retire from RL to go to RU for free, i think if Sale and Cas cant agree on a fee and DS does refuse to come back to Cas..then it would probably go to the court of arbitration for sport.

Either way, i hope it gets resolved soon, it doesnt paint anyone involved in a good light.

The only difference is the kind nature of Derek Beaumont, if Gill decides to release Solomon's registration then it would be almost exactly the same situation

Happens all the time in the public sector. The government (effectively) decides the salary level of every public sector employee. Many have been frozen for years.

Yep. He can't just walk away from his contract without Cas agreeing.

Solomona had 2 years left to run on his contract. Cas Tigers have had 3 offers (all rejected) and have said he is not for sale. Why would Gill decide to release his registration ? There is no comparison whatsoever in the two cases.

I suspect this case may be resolved quickly, with Cas being scared off a long legal persuit and agreeing to Sale's terms. If not, it's a case that could have enormous ramifications for professional sport in this country. For me, the issue isn't Solomona singing for or playing for Sale, it's him reneging on a legally binding contract with Cas. I'd suspect the legal action will have to be Cas against Solomona rather than Cas against Sale.

If Solomona is able to just walk away from one professional sports contract and take another, I cannot see why a football player couldn't. You could end up with all professional sports contracts being pay as you play, with players moving freely between teams. As with the salary cap, any governing body rules to prevent it could easily be overcome legally as a restriction of trade.

Of course, I might not be right with any of that.

The problem with the Solomona case, compared with say, football, is that, a footballer couldn't go an play basketball or rugby etc.
However the skill set between League and Union is pretty transferable.
I dont think that any other sport would have this issue but,you would think that Cas have some kind of case against the player, rather than Sale.
However, you would also expect the player to have been receiving some "advice" from somewhere.
The average person wouldn't just walk away from a contract and expect no kind of "cost".

I don't know who DS agent is but I would imagine the "advice" came from him.

Heard a couple of advancements today. The RFL are now involved with the case and CTRLFC have suspended DS for missing training.

In law a third party can be sued for encouraging a breach of contract between two other parties. Also, despite the 'nicety' of Union and League being different sports, judges are not fools, and I don't think that a judge would be willing to allow such a literal interpretation in the case of employment law.

All in all, though, Cas should try to settle out of court. As others have said, though it's always shocking when a player refuses to honour a contract, he can't be forced to play, or at least to play well, so its a no-win situation.

We could take him out?

Kidnapp his Mrs?