A man who went to a football match while off sick from work claims he was unfairly dismissed.

American Express analyst Bechir Bejaoui, 40, of West Street, Burgess Hill, was signed off work in September 2000 when he became ill after eating a Chinese meal.

After being off work for a week, he attended an inter-staff football match at the University of Sussex, Falmer, on the Saturday.

He told a tribunal in Brighton he felt he had a responsibility as the manager of one of the teams.

He was signed off sick until the following Wednesday. Mr Bejaoui's manager, Kate Hegarty, said the company had held a disciplinary hearing when Mr Bejaoui returned to work after being told he had been at the football match on September 9.

Miss Hegarty said: "I decided to suspend Mr Bejaoui on full pay pending further investigations.

"Mr Bejaoui worked in a part of the organisation where trust is a key element but Mr Bejaoui's actions broke that trust. I concluded the loss of trust was so great I decided to dismiss him."

Mr Bejaoui said the day before the football match he had phoned Miss Hegarty to tell her he would be back at work the following Monday as he was feeling better.

He said he was told not to bother returning until his sick note expired on the Wednesday.

Miss Hegarty denied she had received the call and told the tribunal there had also been concerns about unpaid invoices concerning the football teams' weekly subscriptions.

The tribunal heard company managers were worried because Mr Bejaoui had put an inquiry on his own American Express account, a procedure forbidden under company policy.

An inquiry is an investigation into money missing from an account. Mr Bejaoui said he thought he had permission to make one on his own account.

The tribunal was adjourned until April 15.