PREMIER LEAGUE clubs have been hit with an £86million legal threat as they meet for the first time in five weeks today.
The 20 clubs voted to dump Chinese broadcaster PPTV in October after the company reneged on the first £160m payment due under their three-year deal.
Chinese broadcasters PPTV have issued a legal threat to the Premier League, chasing £86m in damages after the top-flight dumped them in OctoberCredit: Getty Images – Getty
A legal case and claim of £165m was lodged at London’s Commercial Court as the league found a short-term replacement for this season.
But now PPTV have countersued, claiming £86m in damages.
They allege they had ‘suffered huge loss, including lost advertising revenue, membership revenue and so on’ as a result of the three-month Covid shutdown last term.
PPTV also insist they paid £128m in advance – a claim denied by the Premier League – and accused the league of inconsistency in its business approach.
A PPTV spokesman said: “The Premier League seems to have adopted a double standard and treated a domestic UK broadcaster differently from a Chinese broadcaster.
“We have made our best efforts to reach a compromise, but we have been left with no choice but to take legal action.”
Premier League chiefs were unmoved by the legal threat yesterday.
They are likely to confirm the confidence of their legal stance at today’s ‘shareholder’ meeting.
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The club bosses will also officially ratify the new ‘enhanced Covid protocols’ introduced on January 7 and which helped see the number of positive test results reduced considerably last week.
Clubs will agree the upcoming TV fixture schedule, with all games available to be watched by fans until at least the end of next month and potentially the March international break.
Some clubs are pushing for a belated confirmation of the threshold for points per game calculations to be used if there is a further shutdown forcing curtailment of the season.
The clubs will also hear the latest update on the ‘strategic review’ called after the publication of the ‘Project Big Picture’ plans backed by Liverpool and Manchester United.
They will also confirm the two new ‘postponement protocols’ designed to clarify how games are called off.
Jurgen Klopp warns Liverpool they face ‘tough race’ to even reach top four in the Premier League
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
