The organisers behind Indonesia's Java Cup said Wednesday they will sue English football club Everton and Turkey's Galatasaray after the teams withdrew from the tournament. Everton said on Tuesday it was forced to abandon plans to play the pre-season tournament, stating "unresolved issues mean that the risk of travelling was too great."
The withdrawal came one day after Galatasary, forcing the inaugural Java Cup, which was scheduled for July 26-29, to be postponed indefinitely. "(The) consequences of the cancellation for Everton is {they) pay back all the damages," Patrick Mbyaya, a lawyer representing the tournament, told a press conference.
"We will also contact the England Football Association to give disciplinary (sanctions) to Everton. If they refuse to pay back, we'll take this to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (in Switzerland)," he said. The lawyer added the same applied to Galatasaray.
Widjajanto, chief executive of The Liga Prima Indonesia Sportindo (LPIS) which organised the event, said: "This withdrawals are very odd and we really regretted their decision...the investors clearly suffered a big loss of money." The organiser showed to reporters a letter dated July 25 from the English Premier League's chairman David Richards as the first official notification that the Everton would not attend the event. The letter said: "Both Everton and the Barclays Premier League deeply regret that their involvement in the competition in Jakarta will not be possible.