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Soccer

'When does the good grace end and the legal stuff kick in?'

Jonathan Courtenay joined OTB AM on Thursday to assess at the potential fallout for sports brands...



Soccer

'When does the good grace end and the legal stuff kick in?'

Jonathan Courtenay joined OTB AM on Thursday to assess at the potential fallout for sports brands and teams like Liverpool if the Premier League ends late.

Courtenay is the owner of MD JACC Sports Distributors & Toplion Sportswear, the company behind Ireland's football kits.

He said he was proud to have a long association with the FAI and had a decent yarn about those orange kits going missing.

Yet, the more pressing issue of Europe's football leagues ending at unexpected times was to the forefront of his discussion with OTB AM, and the potential legal minefield that could ensue as contracts for players and apparel manufacturers come under scrutiny.

Courtenay was speaking about whether brands will allow contracts to roll rather than have teams wearing different kits over the course of a single season.

"I think that will all be on a case by case basis," he reasoned. "It depends on the relationship that brands have with that particular club or association or president. I think it will all come down to the size of the club or the deal you are talking about.

"Obviously, if you are talking about Manchester United or a Liverpool, the contracts they have would have a lot of deeply legal black and white kind of stuff there. There has to be a realisation that this is something that nobody has ever experienced before.

"There's been nothing like this in terms of a global pandemic for over 100 years, so legal contracts and contracts in general across sport have moved on immeasurably from the last time this would have happened.

"There has to be a realisation on both sides that this is something nobody planned, this came along, there has to be some level of fairness, but that's where the lawyers make their money, in those areas."

Good grace

Courtenay relayed his understanding of the Liverpool situation, who are moving from New Balance to Nike as a kit manufacturer.

The potential sight of the Premier League trophy being lifted in a different kit from the one the Reds wore all season is being averted through some goodwill.

"I know for example one of the brands we look after, New Balance, their contract with Liverpool is ending," he explained. "Nike are taking that over and they said a few months ago that they understood that the league would probably be suspended and run later than usual.

"They will allow Liverpool to lift the trophy, as they probably will, in New Balance kit. But how long that good grace can last for I don't know.

"That contract runs until the first of June and the Premier League season runs into August and that's then affecting Nike's launch plans for the next kit, I don't know where the good grace stops and the 'legals' kick in.

"I think that's very much a case by case relationship-based conversation for everybody.

"Brands have these iconic moments so to lose a sponsorship after having it for ten years or so and the crowning moment is ironically at the end of the championship.

"The brand likes to have that image (with the trophy) in their portfolio."

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