
LIV Golf指责DP世界巡回赛“明显试图干涉”其重组进程,此前欧洲巡回赛表示将拒绝接受下赛季参加分离赛道的任何球员的会员资格。
LIV Golf has accused the DP World Tour of a "clear attempt to interfere" with its restructuring process, after the European tour said it would refuse membership to anyone playing on the breakaway circuit next season.
周三的庭审中,代表LIV的律师表示,该组织对对手DP世界巡回赛的立场“相当担忧”。
During a court hearing on Wednesday, the attorney representing LIV said that the organisation was "quite concerned" by the stance taken by the rival DP World Tour.
代表LIV的吉布森邓恩律所律师罗布·菲茨杰拉德还表示,该组织将在本月底前知道是否能够以“LIV 2.0”的形式继续运营。
Rob Fitzgerald of Gibson Dunn, the attorney representing LIV, also said that the organisation would know by the end of the month if it could continue in a 'LIV 2.0' guise.
“我们一直在密切关注这一情况,坦率地说,我们对DP世界巡回赛的立场相当担忧,”菲茨杰拉德表示。
"We're continuing to monitor this situation very closely and we're quite concerned by it frankly," said Fitzgerald of the DP World Tour's position.
“特别是时间点,这让我们觉得这是对我们与球员的进程,以及可能对我们整体重组的明显干涉尝试。
"The timing in particular strikes us as a clear attempt to interfere with our process with our players and potentially our reorganisation writ large.
“这也引发了LIV此前多次表达的同样反竞争担忧,即竞争对手联盟试图将市场参与者——也就是这些球员——排除在LIV之外并予以惩罚,使他们只能参加LIV。”
"It also raises a lot of the same anti-competitive concerns that LIV has expressed previously regarding the way competing leagues have sought to box out and punish market participants, namely these players, from participating in LIV and really only LIV." DP World Tour declined to comment on Fitzgerald's statement, but Guy Kinnings, its CEO, told BBC Sport on Monday that "players need to make a choice," toughening the organisation's policy on playing across the tours.
DP世界巡回赛拒绝对菲茨杰拉德的言论发表评论,但其首席执行官盖伊·金宁斯周一在接受BBC Sport采访时表示,“球员需要做出选择”,进一步强化了该组织对跨巡回赛参赛的政策。
In previous years, conditional releases were struck with some top players - including Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton - enabling them to play on both the DP World Tour and LIV.
过去几年,曾与包括约翰·拉姆和泰瑞尔·哈顿在内的一些顶级球员达成有条件释放协议,使他们能够同时参加DP世界巡回赛和LIV。
"Player freedom is the reason LIV Golf was created, and it's the foundation of LIV Golf 2.0, a league built around its players," Fitzgerald added as he continued his argument in court.
“球员自由是LIV Golf成立的原因,也是LIV Golf 2.0的基础——一个围绕球员构建的联盟,”菲茨杰拉德在继续其庭审论点时补充道。
"LIV has been vocal in its belief in free agency and that the best players should have greater flexibility to compete across the ecosystem. It's unfortunate that another tour is taking an opposite view and pressuring our players with false choice."
“LIV 一直坚持认为自由球员制度是正确的,最优秀的球员应当在整个生态系统中拥有更大的灵活性来参赛。另一场巡回赛持相反观点,并以虚假选择施压我们的球员,这令人遗憾。” 负责监督新泽西州破产法院程序的迈克尔·B·卡普兰法官回应道:“我所阅读的这些评论确实引发了担忧。” 针对卡普兰要求澄清 LIV 2.0 成立时间表的请求,菲茨杰拉德表示,“两个关键环节”与结构有关,涉及 BC Partners 的投资以及拥有“足够数量的球员,以便在本月25日前签署一支真正的高尔夫联赛”。
Judge Michael B. Kaplan, overseeing proceedings in the New Jersey Bankruptcy Court, replied: "The comments I have read do raise concerns." Responding to Kaplan's request for clarity on the timeline of LIV 2.0's creation, Fitzgerald said the "two critical pieces" were structural, relating to the investment from BC Partners and having "sufficient number of players to have a bona fide golf league signed up by 25th of this month".
“我们一直在全天候努力,既在球员方面,也在结构方面,”菲茨杰拉德补充道。
"We are working hard around the clock both on the player front and on the structural front," added Fitzgerald.
当被问及何时能够向法院”明确表示” LIV 是否“正在转向清算”或继续前进时,菲茨杰拉德表示:“我们预计这一决定将在本月底前作出。
Asked when he would be able to advise the court "one way or the other" whether LIV was "toggling to a wind-down" or going forward, Fitzgerald said: "We would anticipate that decision will be made by the end of the month.
“一旦我们对 LIV 2.0 有完全清晰的认识,债务人将需要很快开始向主办场地、供应商和其他方支付款项,以便我们能够安排和准备我们预计将在破产程序结束后不久举行的 LIV 2.0 赛事。” LIV 于去年9月在美国申请第11章破产保护,此前沙特阿拉伯撤回了其数十亿美元的资助。
"Once we have full clarity on LIV 2.0, the debtors will need to very shortly begin making payments to host sites, vendors and other parties, so that we can schedule and prepare for LIV 2.0 events that we anticipate will take place shortly following the emergence." LIV filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States in September after Saudi Arabia withdrew its multibillion-dollar funding.
作为法院监督下的“重组流程”的一部分——该组织希望在2027年初完成该流程——球员合同已被“驳回”,且未来球员无义务继续成为 LIV 的一部分。
As part of the court-supervised "restructuring process", which the organisation hopes to conclude in early 2027, player contracts have been "rejected" and no players are obligated to be part of LIV going forward.
在周三的听证会上,包括布赖森·德尚博和达斯汀·约翰逊在内的19份球员合同被驳回,此前这些合同因上周的听证会被延期,因为这些球员希望明确合同驳回是否将使他们能够与第三方就自身未来进行对话。
During Wednesday's hearing, 19 player contracts - including those of Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson - were rejected, after having been adjourned from a hearing last week because those players wanted clarity that contract rejection would enable them to have conversations with third parties about their futures.
LIV在2021年启动后招募了多名知名球员,但目前仍欠其参赛者至少4500万美元(约合3300万英镑)。
LIV recruited a number of high profile players following its launch in 2021, but now owes its participants at least $45m (£33m).
在1月离开LIV后重新加入欧洲巡回赛的迪拜赛事排名领先者帕特里克·里德表示,他自“第一天起”就受到了欢迎。
Current Race to Dubai leader Patrick Reed, who left LIV in January, has said he was accepted "from day one" after rejoining the European tour.
“今年仅在此巡回赛参赛对我来说是件我真正享受的事情,我也觉得队友们很享受我回来参赛的过程,”里德说。“我没有感到任何不同。我觉得队友们自第一天起就接受了我。”
"This year fully playing on this tour only has been something I've really enjoyed and I feel like the guys have enjoyed having me come over and playing," said Reed.
“我能看到一些队友会坐在那里,对那些过来只参加大型赛事的球员产生分歧。”
"I don't feel any different. I feel like the guys have accepted me from day one.
“我回来后参加了各种赛事——大型赛事、小型赛事以及中间层级的赛事。我觉得对我来说一切都没有不同。”
"I can see how some of the guys would sit there and have an issue with guys coming over and just playing the big events.
与此同时,六次大满贯冠军得主罗里·麦克罗伊表示,LIV处于“如此动荡的状态”,而DP世界巡回赛对希望离开该赛事的球员“包容得非常好”。
"I've come over and played everything from big events, small events, events in the middle. I feel like it hasn't been any different for me." Meanwhile, six-time major winner Rory McIlroy said that LIV was in "such a state of flux" and that the DP World Tour had been "more than accommodating" to the players seeking to leave the competition.
“DP世界巡回赛完全有权修改规则和条例,”麦克罗伊在周四DP世界印度锦标赛开赛前的新闻发布会上说道。“这既是保护其业务的方式,也是让巡回赛尽可能强大的途径。”
"The DP World Tour are well within their rights to change the rules and regulations," said McIlroy in his press conference prior to the Thursday start of the DP World India Championship.
周二,他告诉彭博社,他将支持让LIV高尔夫脱离者重返PGA巡回赛,并认为该分离赛道已不再对传统巡回赛构成威胁。
"This is a way to protect their business and to make the tour as strong as possible." On Tuesday he told Bloomberg he would vote to have LIV Golf defectors back on the PGA Tour and believed the breakaway circuit was no longer a threat to traditional tours.