Liverpool won’t be able to sign other clubs’ academy players for two years after Premier League ban

Recently, Liverpool have been the subject of a Premier League tribunal whereby the club have been investigated over the approaches made to the academy player of another club.

The Merseyside club were found guilty of breaching Premier League rules regarding youth recruitment. The academy player who was the subject of the investigation was previously registered with Stoke City FC. Liverpool attempted to sign the player two years ago and the controversy became apparent after a dispute emerged regarding the youngster's private school fees. Liverpool were prepared to pay the player's school fees but the Premier League changed regulations surrounding this at the time which meant that in order to proceed with this, the club would have to pay for the private education of all players registered to their academy - something which the club did not want to do. Liverpool withdrew their offer when they realised they would be in breach of these new regulations but an investigation was launched once the player's family accused the club of going back on its promises. The subsequent investigation revealed that Liverpool offered additional expenses to the player, such as match tickets, which are also prohibited. As a result, the club have been banned for two years from signing other teams' academy players for two years and fined £100,000 for illegally approaching and offering an inducement to sign that particular player. Liverpool say that "the club accepts the decision" and you can read the full statement from the Premier League here.