Jonas Gutierrez has claimed that Newcastle United saw him as a "liability rather than an asset" at his employment tribunal in Birmingham. The Argentinian is suing the North East club for a fee of around £2m for disability discrimination, having been diagnosed with testicular cancer in October 2013. Gutierrez was released by Newcastle at the end of last season, with his last game being the relegation decider against West Ham United, where the cancer survivor's goal helped the Magpies stay in the Premier League. The winger underwent surgery in October 2013 to remove the tumour. In a witness statement presented to the tribunal, Gutierrez said that he was called into the then manager Alan Pardew's office in December, where he was told that he did not feature in Newcastle's future plans. He was then sent on loan to Norwich City for the second half of the season. "I was very shocked about the club's sudden change of heart about me," said Gutierrez. "Particularly as I had played in 194 games for the club at this point and was one of the key first team players." Gutierrez, affectionately known as Spiderman by fans for his masked goal celebration, stated that Pardew later apologised for how he treated his player, and told him that it was not "his decision" to remove him from first team action. In his statement, Gutierrez said: "I understood by this that the decision was actually that of the club's owner, Mike Ashley." Gutierrez claims that there was a clause in his contract that stated he would receive a one year contract extension if he started 80 games for the club over the duration of his four year deal. However, the current Deportivo La Coruna player has claimed that he was only considered for selection late in the 2014/15 season by John Carver when he was unable to reach the 80 game tally needed for a new contract. In his statement, Gutierrez said: "Due to their concerns about my cancer I consider that the club ensured that I would not be selected to start in a sufficient number of matches to trigger the option." The hearing is set to last 10 days, with Gutierrez's former managers Pardew and Carver also set to give evidence.
