Legal appeal could see Nowotny axed

Former German international Jens Nowotny admits Bayer Leverkusen have threatened to release him if he continues to pursue a court case over unpaid wages.

Former German international Jens Nowotny admits Bayer Leverkusen have threatened to release him if he continues to pursue a court case over unpaid wages.

The 31-year-old Nowotny sought six months pay, rather than the six weeks he is legally entitled to, from Leverkusen after he was sidelined in February with torn knee ligaments but lost the case.

Defender Nowotny now has the chance to appeal but admits Bayer are running out of patience.

"The club have told me that if I continue with the case they will sever their ties," Nowotny said in Kicker magazine. "I now have to think how to proceed. It is a difficult decision."

Nowotny and Leverkusen will also go to court on October 28 in a tax row over a signing-on payment the player received during contract negotiations in 2002.

Nowotny, capped 45 times by Germany, is thought to be one of Leverkusen's biggest earners having been on the club's books since 1996.