Acun Ilicali has responded to the threat of legal action by the owner of Pogon Szczecin by claiming Okan Özkan had not been paid his salary for a period of working at the Polish club.
Özkan is expected to replace Jared Dublin as Hull City's sporting director in the coming days, after the American was suddenly sacked on Monday, with Ilicali confirming he was his top choice for the position.
The former Fenerbahce assistant sporting director has spent the last six months working in Polish football with Pogon Szczecin, a club where former Tigers vice-chairman Tan Kesler is heavily involved.
City were threatened with legal action earlier this week by Canadian businessman and Szczecin owner Alex Haditaghi, who claimed the Tigers had not contacted his club about making an approach for the 35-year-old Özkan.
"It seems like Okan Özkan terminated his employment contract with Pogon Szczecin for just cause after not receiving his salary for several months. He is the first person I will speak with regarding the Sporting Director role, and he will be our top choice," the Tigers chief said.
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Despite the Polish outfit releasing a positive statement and wishing their former sporting director well, Haditaghi took to social media to vent his annoyance, threatening the Tigers with legal action.
"He informed us yesterday around 4:00 PM and left Poland around 9:00 PM," Haditaghi wrote on social media. "Under his valid and existing employment contract, we were entitled to 90 days’ notice. Instead, we received approximately 3 to 4 hours.
"Based on our conversations with him, we understand that Hull City was fully aware of his contractual obligations to Pogoń Szczecin and nevertheless encouraged and pressured him to leave immediately, without respecting the notice period in his employment contract.
"We do not have anyone lined up. Why would we? We were not expecting to lose a valuable member of our organisation overnight to English football, especially in these circumstances. We are disappointed in him.
"We are disappointed in the conduct of this English Premier League club. And yes, we are disappointed to lose someone who was playing an important role in our project. We will deal with this matter properly, professionally, and legally. We have already initiated legal action against Hull City and its ownership in relation to what we consider to be irresponsible, improper, and unlawful conduct."
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