Overseas broadcasters could sue the Premier League if the current season is not completed, a leading London law firm has warned.
Lois Langton, partner at Howard Kennedy, told the Evening Standard broadcasters are considering launching a legal challenge.
“We have had enquiries from overseas broadcasters, who have paid a lot of money to broadcast Premier League matches in their respective jurisdictions and currently have no matches to show,” said Langton.
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“They are looking at potentially suing the Premier League for the absence of content on their TV channels and it is that you can see having a catastrophic knock-on effect to various layers of football, because it is those TV deals that have been a game-changer in terms of clubs being able to afford astronomical wages and huge staffs.”
Joel Leigh, another partner at Howard Kennedy, added that insurance would probably not protect the League against action of this kind.
“Most contracts don’t provide for something as specific as Covid-19,” he said. “Instead, what’s happening is people are re-familiarising themselves with slightly out-of-date or ethereal legal concepts, like force majeure clauses, that cover events that are unavoidable.”
