LEICESTER have been slapped with a huge fine by the Government due to illegal dealings with JD Sports.
The relegated club admitted their guilt and will have to pay £880,000.
Leicester and JD broke competition law and price conduct over three seasons, which may have led to supporters paying more.
They both entered an agreement that aimed to limit sales of Foxes products from business competitors.
In August 2018, JD stopped selling Leicester clothing online for the 2018/19 season.
Six months later the sports fashion retailer agreed to not undercut the club with sales by applying a delivery charge to all Leicester items.
READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWS
This meant JD’s offer of free shipping on online orders over £70 did not count when a customer was purchasing a Leicester product.
The investigation by Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) claim this went on for two years.
JD are exempt from a fine after it reported the illegal dealings.
Both Leicester and JD cooperated with the investigation.
Most read in Championship
BETTING SPECIAL – BEST NO DEPOSIT CASINO OFFERS
CMA’s executive director of enforcement Micheal Grenfell said: “Strong and unimpeded competition between retailers is essential to consumers’ ability to shop around for the best deals.
“Football fans are well-known for their loyalty towards their teams. In this case we have provisionally found that Leicester City FC and JD Sports colluded to share out markets and fix prices – with the result that fans may have ended up paying more than they would otherwise have done.
“Both parties have now admitted their involvement, allowing us to bring the investigation to a swift conclusion.
“The fine that Leicester City FC and its parent companies have agreed to pay sends a clear message to them and other businesses that anti-competitive collusion will not be tolerated.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
