Leeds United are considering taking legal action against Leicester City in the wake of Burnley’s landmark compensation victory over Everton.
Everton were ordered to pay £40m after Burnley argued
they would have avoided relegation from the Premier League in 2022 had the
Merseyside club’s six-point punishment for breaking Profitability and
Sustainability Rules (PSR) been applied during the season of the breach and not
in 2023-24.
Last week’s decision, which was handed down by an
independent disciplinary commission and is the subject of an appeal by Everton,
was deemed to be a watershed moment that could open the door to further action
between rival clubs.
Leeds are now exploring how Leicester’s PSR issues affected
two of their own seasons. The first is 2022-23, when both Leeds and
Leicester were relegated, and then 2023-24, when Leicester gained automatic
promotion back to the top flight and Leeds lost in the play-offs.
In September 2024, Leicester won an appeal against an
alleged breach of PSR regulations for the 2022-23 season when arguing that the
Premier League had acted outside of its jurisdiction.
Everton have appointed the law firm Slaughter and May to
handle their appeal after the ruling that has sent shockwaves through football.
The outcome will be closely monitored by Manchester City and their Premier
League rivals.
A number of top flight sides are believed to have
instructed legal counsel to sue City for compensation should they be found
guilty of breaching Premier League rules in the 115 charges levelled against
the club. City have denied wrongdoing.
Leeds reached an out-of-court settlement last year with
Everton regarding the Merseyside outfit’s breach. The Elland Road club were
not relegated in 2022, but finished one place and one point behind
Everton. The financial package was undisclosed, but a merit payment was worth
around £2million. On that occasion, Leeds did not believe their case was
legally strong enough to pursue.
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