Chris Dunlavy
A FRESH TAKE ON FOOTBALL
REMEMBER when Leicester City were the darlings of English football? The plucky underdogs. The cheeky upstarts. Their scarcely credible title triumph in 2016 powered by spirit, skittles and the sexy football of Robert Huth.
When Nessun Dorma rang round the King Power and Wes Morgan raised the Premier League trophy aloft, there wasn’t a football fan in the country who didn’t share in that success.
Yes, it was their victory, their moment. But it was also ours - a reminder to every fan of every club that in the age of sheikhs and state ownership, the little guy can still prosper.
Even when the euphoria waned, there remained much to admire. Leicester spent subsequent years perfecting the art of player trading, developed a string of homegrown stars and were in many ways a model Premier League club.
Now? They’re just another basket case, whose attempts to dodge justice risk making them one of the most hated clubs in the country.
Leicester, who began the weekend lying second in the Championship, have taken legal action against the Premier League after being charged with a breach of profit and sustainability regulations during their final three years in the top flight - an offence that is likely to carry a six-point deduction.
Legally, their argument is that the Premier League does not have the right to impose sanctions on an EFL club. They might well win.
Earlier this season, Leicester’s lawyers blocked the EFL’s attempt to impose a business plan, successfully arguing they had no jurisdiction as the club was in the Premier League at the time it overspent. Realistically, though, it’s a stalling tactic. One way or another, punishment is coming. Leicester have breached PSR in the Premier League and will breach PSR in the Championship, unless they somehow manage to sell their entire team by June. Points will be docked, and Leicester know it.
By launching legal action now, however, they have ensured that the season will be over before any judgement is reached and that the inevitable sanctions cannot derail their bid for automatic promotion.
Wouldn’t everybody prefer their bitter pill with a £180m sugar coating?
Injustice
The Premier League and EFL are livid,
