Harbour Underwriting’s Rocco Pirozzolo was quoted in Insurance Business UK on the dispute insurance angles of the Manchester City verdict, giving an underwriter’s view of how the market might approach compensation claims from rival clubs and players.
On 29 September, the Premier League announced that an independent commission had found Manchester City in breach of more than 100 of its rules. The club denies any wrongdoing and has appealed. Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham are reported to have served notices in 2024 reserving their right to claim compensation, and players and agents are also said to be considering claims for loss of earnings if the verdict stands.
Rocco told Insurance Business UK that clubs and players looking to bring these claims may need to wait until the appeal is decided before they can secure dispute insurance. “With a live appeal, this creates uncertainty, and so I expect underwriters would want to wait for the outcome of the appeal,” he said.
A decision on the appeal could come by late January, although Sky Sports has reported that it may take longer.
Proving the loss
Rocco said that the novelty of these claims may put them outside the appetite of some dispute insurers. For underwriters willing to consider them, a finding that the rules were broken is only the first step. “They know that the claimant has to connect that breach to a different sporting outcome and then translate that outcome into a financial loss,” he said.
In June, a Premier League commission found that Everton’s breach of the Profitability and Sustainability Rules in the 2021/22 season gave it a sporting advantage that caused Burnley’s relegation. The commission awarded Burnley £26m plus interest of more than £9m.
Rocco sees Burnley’s award as a roadmap for underwriters assessing claims of this kind, since the expert evidence Burnley relied on dealt with both causation and the size of the loss. However, as Everton is appealing the decision, the roadmap is itself under challenge.
Limits of indemnity and funding
Expert evidence will carry much of the weight in these cases, and Rocco expects football clubs to “vigorously defend” them. Claimants may therefore need significant limits of indemnity, which Rocco believes the market has the capacity to provide.
Even where clubs and players could afford to pursue claims themselves, Rocco said that “lawyers advising their clients in respect of these cases should consider both funding and insurance as ways to enable these cases to be brought”.
You can read the Insurance Business UK article here.
