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JD Sports Fashion PLC escaped a fine but was found to have broken UK competition law alongside Leicester City Football Club, a UK watchdog said on Monday. The matter relates to the sale of Leicester City-branded clothing in the UK, including replica football kits. JD Sports escaped a fine after reporting the conduct to the Competition & Markets Authority. However, the UK watchdog imposed a £800,000 fine to Leicester City Football Club Ltd and its parent companies King Power International Co Ltd and V & A Holding Co Ltd. JD Sports on Monday noted the CMA decision and its immunity following ‘complete and continuous cooperation with the CMA throughout its investigation’. CMA Executive Director of Enforcement Michael Grenfell: ‘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.’ Shares in JD Sports were down 0.6% to 157.10 pence each in London on Monday afternoon. Earlier in July, JD Sports said it had taken a number of steps to strengthen its competition compliance programme. JD Sports in September was fined £1.5 million by the CMA for anticompetitive behaviour, also relating to football kit. The CMA found that JD Sports and Elite Sports Group Ltd broke competition law by fixing the retail prices of a number of Rangers-branded replica kits and other clothing products from September 2018 until July 2019. Elite Sports was fined £459,000. Rangers FC - a Glasgow, Scotland football club - was fined £225,000. Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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