A “vindicated” Dwight Yorke is delighted after a court found him to have been unfairly sacked by Macarthur FC.
The A-League club will have to pay their former men’s coach $212,500 compensation after the Court of Arbitration for Sport found Macarthur breached the parties’ contract.
“I am delighting to have been vindicated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport following my departure from Macarthur FC,” Yorke said on Instagram.
“(The court) has become the second independent body in the past 18 months to examine the facts of the case and to find in my favour.
“That I was denied the chance to build on my work with Macarthur - which has already yielded short-term results - will always be a source of sadness.”
The club said part of the court's judgment is confidential and therefore it is not possible to comment on specifics.
"However the club is comfortable with the decision and will release extracts of the decision when and if it is permitted to do so," the statement read.
Yorke joined Macarthur in 2022 to coach the men’s team on a two-year deal before his contract was terminated seven months later.
The club said in a statement the two parties agreed to mutually part ways with the former Manchester United striker deciding to “pursue other opportunities”.
But a FIFA Players’ Status Chamber found in June 2023 that Macarthur terminated Yorke’s contract without just cause.
Macarthur sacked Yorke after the former Trinidad and Tobago international delivered a scathing post-game address in January 2023, allegedly describing a “pub team … run by Muppets from the top to the bottom” following their 1-0 loss to Adelaide United.
The club said the address caused damage to the reputation and interest of the club after it became publicly known and was reported by the media.
Macarthur was ordered by the FIFA chamber to pay Yorke $212,500 but the club appealed the decision before the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the findings in September.
Yorke has not been hired in a managerial role since leaving Macarthur.
He led the Bulls to their first piece of silverware, when they lifted the Australia Cup in 2022.
His Macarthur side began the 2022-23 A-League season brightly, picking up five wins and two draws through the opening 13 rounds.
Yorke’s last game in charge was the Adelaide United loss, with the Bulls still inside the A-League Men finals spots at the midway point of the season.
