League Championship side Leeds United has been ordered to pay former academy welfare officer Lucy Ward £290,000 ($390,000) "following her employment tribunal victory against the club," according to the London GUARDIAN. Ward "successfully pursued an unfair dismissal and sex discrimination case against Leeds in April" after arguing that the reason she had been sacked in '15 by club Owner Massimo Cellino was because she was the partner of former Manager Neil Redfearn, one of the six managers sacked by the Italian since he took over at Elland Road in April '14.
Leeds claimed that Ward "lost her job, having been there for 17 years, because she took an excessive amount of holiday in order to work as a commentator for the BBC at the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada." Ward will receive £127,229.81 ($170,000) from the club over the sex discrimination and £5,525 ($7,400) "over her unfair dismissal." The club has "also been ordered to pay Ward’s legal costs," which are said to be in the region of £100,000 ($135,000). The judgment from the tribunal case "also reveals Leeds arranged for its senior staff to take part in equalities training following the case" (GUARDIAN, 7/14).
