Manchester City and Spygate prove lawyer gulf is opening in football
In February 2023, Manchester City fans unfurled a banner at the Etihad Stadium bearing the words “Pannick on the streets of London”. This play on The Smiths’ 1986 song referred to Lord David Pannick KC, the barrister hired to spearhead the club’s defence against 115 charges for alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules. Three years later, a verdict from an independent commission appointed under the Premier League’s Judicial Panel framework is now hotly anticipated.
As one of a growing number of top-flight lawyers whose earnings could almost invite comparison with the Premier League stars themselves, Lord Pannick arguably exemplifies just how expensive football-related litigation has become. His instruction by Manchester City shows that the biggest battles in football are no longer fought solely on the pitch, and that the quality of legal firepower can matter as much as sporting performance.
In the recent Spygate appeal, Southampton FC again turned to Lord Pannick and another silk from Blackstone Chambers, Kate Gallafent KC, to argue their case in front of the Disciplinary Commission of the English Football League. At issue was the Commission’s decision to expel the club from the Sky Bet Championship play-offs and impose a four-point deduction for spying on their opponents’ training.
Pannick on the streets
The quality of lawyers instructed in cases such as these highlights a growing divide: the richest clubs can afford to fight longer, spend harder and challenge every decision. Meanwhile, smaller clubs whose pockets are far less deep risk being left behind.
It is well-documented that since the establishment of the Premier League in 1992, UK football clubs have been completely transformed from relatively modest domestic teams into multi-billion-pound global entertainment corporations. As broadcast revenues exploded, clubs diversified through huge commercial sponsorships, stadium makeovers and digital merchandising.
But elite clubs are no longer just buying success on the pitch. They are also litigating to gain advantage off the pitch: and those with the deepest pockets are increasingly best placed to influence the rules, challenge enforcement decisions and, critically, absorb the cost of the fight.
In this legal arms race where the richest clubs can litigate harder, longer and more aggressively than the rest, the total spend on litigation lawyers by the twenty clubs in the Premier League is not formally documented, although it is likely to run to many tens of millions of pounds each year.
As a reference point, the Premier League recently revealed that it has spent more than £100m on legal fees over the past three seasons. According to reports this surge was driven by increased legal costs to enforce Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) and defend against cases brought by clubs like Manchester City regarding Associated Party Transactions (APT).
Battleground for lawyers
The overall cost of disputes in football now extends far beyond fines being levied or points deducted, with clubs facing substantial bills for lawyers, independent experts, arbitrations and appeals.
Against this background, many smaller clubs simply cannot compete in the legal stakes. They are therefore at risk of being priced out when seeking to lawyer up against football leagues, regulators or wealthier rival clubs. Ultimately, this creates a two-tier football system, where only the wealthiest can afford to fight every legal battle.
As is so often the case when comparing the fate of wealthier football clubs with their less fortunate counterparts, the fans potentially suffer most. Legal costs look set to continue their inexorable rise, meaning that the fans themselves will ultimately pay the price.
Matthew Kain is Chief Executive Officer at costs law firm Kain Knight.