Soccer boss found guilty
Morgan Andersen, who played a key role in the controversial transfer of young Nigerian player John Obi Mikel to top British club Manchester United, was found guilty on Wednesday of contract forgery. The former director of Oslo club Lyn was also convicted of filing a false police report against Mikel's agent.
 Morgan Andersen PHOTO: HÅKON MOSVOLD LARSEN/SCANPIX |
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A court in Oslo found Andersen guilty on all counts of his indictment and handed him a one-year suspended jail term, meaning he won't actually have to spend time in prison.
Andersen appealed the court's decision on the spot nonetheless. He has vigorously denied all charges of falsifying documents.
Prosecutors had sought a year in prison for Andersen, with just half of it suspended, mainly for forging a contract it claimed it had with Lyn's former rising star Mikel.
Prosecutor Svein Holden claimed Andersen, who later went to work for Fredrikstad Football Club, falsified the contract so that Lyn and its owner, businessman Atle Brynestad, could claim rights to sell Mikel to top British club Manchester United, profit from the transfer and from any subsequent transfers.
Mikel and his agent had claimed all along that Mikel wanted to play for top London club Chelsea and was merely spending time at Lyn until he was old enough to sign a professional deal with Chelsea. Instead, Andersen claimed Lyn had rights to Mikel, and the right to transfer him to Manchester United.
The two British clubs ultimately struck a deal allowing Mikel to land at Chelsea, where he currently plays. Mikel testified in court that Andersen had lied, and insisted he never had a contract with Lyn.
The case shed light on the money and power plays behind professional soccer. Some observers likened the buying and selling of Mikel to human trafficking, as agents and club managers sought ways of getting around international regulations aimed at protecting young players.
Nina Berglund
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