Spursex
Alert Team
What about Liverpool switching to Nike from New Balance?
If the contract with New Balance says that agreement ends on the final day of the 2019-20 season, then the agreement may be terminated earlier than expected.
This could cost New Balance financially, for instance in lost marketing opportunities or holding excess stock. Alternatively it could benefit Liverpool and Nike who may be able to bring forward the switch.
Generally in circumstances such as this, one party will try and use the situation to get the edge over a competitor in a business transaction.
What about promotion? What legal basis would clubs have for damages if they are denied it?
The EFL is a company called The Football League Limited and each club is a shareholder. It's a hard argument to run, but if they decided to act in accordance with the Premier League and cancel the season, Leeds and West Brom could argue the EFL's board acted with unfair prejudice against a minority shareholder.
For example what if the decision was solely made to retain Leeds as an EFL club as they have global support and offer a better sell to broadcasters? A decision of this kind would completely prejudice Leeds and other clubs seeking promotion, it would also not be in keeping with the ethos of the EFL articles.
Damages would be fairly easy to quantify. It'd be a hard case to win but you might not bring it on your own. You'd bring it with every promotion-chasing side in the divisions.
Leeds and West Brom would get the most in damages but even lower down it's worth it. Leeds and West Brom's potential legal action is one of the reasons the EFL would be so keen to finish the season.
Imagine if the Football League ended the season, Leeds and West Brom lost revenue, were denied promotion, it went to a tribunal and they won with damages of £200million – it would bankrupt the Football League.
It would be a tough case to argue but promotion-chasing sides could sue for huge damages
What would happen with broadcasters?
It depends what the contracts say. They might have force majeure clause in it. Also, Sky have given everybody the option to suspend Sky Sports. It's good PR. But if I were the Premier League and EFL, I'd argue that they get loads of content around live action. People watch Premier League Years and season reviews. Therefore Sky would have failed to mitigate their losses.
They've not lost that much but this PR act has encouraged people to add to Sky's financial losses. That is an argument the Premier League and EFL could raise.
Also – when football comes back, you still want to have the rights. If you void the original agreement with the season cancelled, how willing will the Premier League and EFL be to go back to Sky again? Amazon, Netflix and YouTube are breathing down their neck.
In a time like this, a recession, it might even be in the Premier League's interest if the contract was terminated.
Amazon and Netflix have an unlimited pool of money – people are still buying things from Amazon now while they're in lockdown. They could even use the situation to lobby the FA to get rid of the 3pm blackout rule, which would increase the value of the deals.
There could be issues if Sky Sports and BT Sport ask for their money back over the TV deal
And say the FA Cup – they've already dished out prize money for that…
Clubs have definitely spent that already, especially further down the pyramid. There's also broadcasting money. They wouldn't be able to afford to pay that back.
What about European football?
If they hand it to the top four, the team in fifth would argue – it is a problem. If they go for the same four teams as last year for the Champions League – again it would be seen as unfair.
There's a number of issues, including transfer agreements. There are deals where the price can be decided by qualifying for Europe. If UEFA void their competitions and you are given a place, have you qualified or has it just been handed over? Does that trigger the payout?
There are so many disputes.
If the contract with New Balance says that agreement ends on the final day of the 2019-20 season, then the agreement may be terminated earlier than expected.
This could cost New Balance financially, for instance in lost marketing opportunities or holding excess stock. Alternatively it could benefit Liverpool and Nike who may be able to bring forward the switch.
Generally in circumstances such as this, one party will try and use the situation to get the edge over a competitor in a business transaction.
What about promotion? What legal basis would clubs have for damages if they are denied it?
The EFL is a company called The Football League Limited and each club is a shareholder. It's a hard argument to run, but if they decided to act in accordance with the Premier League and cancel the season, Leeds and West Brom could argue the EFL's board acted with unfair prejudice against a minority shareholder.
For example what if the decision was solely made to retain Leeds as an EFL club as they have global support and offer a better sell to broadcasters? A decision of this kind would completely prejudice Leeds and other clubs seeking promotion, it would also not be in keeping with the ethos of the EFL articles.
Damages would be fairly easy to quantify. It'd be a hard case to win but you might not bring it on your own. You'd bring it with every promotion-chasing side in the divisions.
Leeds and West Brom would get the most in damages but even lower down it's worth it. Leeds and West Brom's potential legal action is one of the reasons the EFL would be so keen to finish the season.
Imagine if the Football League ended the season, Leeds and West Brom lost revenue, were denied promotion, it went to a tribunal and they won with damages of £200million – it would bankrupt the Football League.
It would be a tough case to argue but promotion-chasing sides could sue for huge damages
What would happen with broadcasters?
It depends what the contracts say. They might have force majeure clause in it. Also, Sky have given everybody the option to suspend Sky Sports. It's good PR. But if I were the Premier League and EFL, I'd argue that they get loads of content around live action. People watch Premier League Years and season reviews. Therefore Sky would have failed to mitigate their losses.
They've not lost that much but this PR act has encouraged people to add to Sky's financial losses. That is an argument the Premier League and EFL could raise.
Also – when football comes back, you still want to have the rights. If you void the original agreement with the season cancelled, how willing will the Premier League and EFL be to go back to Sky again? Amazon, Netflix and YouTube are breathing down their neck.
In a time like this, a recession, it might even be in the Premier League's interest if the contract was terminated.
Amazon and Netflix have an unlimited pool of money – people are still buying things from Amazon now while they're in lockdown. They could even use the situation to lobby the FA to get rid of the 3pm blackout rule, which would increase the value of the deals.
There could be issues if Sky Sports and BT Sport ask for their money back over the TV deal
And say the FA Cup – they've already dished out prize money for that…
Clubs have definitely spent that already, especially further down the pyramid. There's also broadcasting money. They wouldn't be able to afford to pay that back.
What about European football?
If they hand it to the top four, the team in fifth would argue – it is a problem. If they go for the same four teams as last year for the Champions League – again it would be seen as unfair.
There's a number of issues, including transfer agreements. There are deals where the price can be decided by qualifying for Europe. If UEFA void their competitions and you are given a place, have you qualified or has it just been handed over? Does that trigger the payout?
There are so many disputes.