There is no doubt that Manchester United broke zero rules in the Howard deal – and while the Guardian cheerfully reports that Manchester United were this –> . <--- close to cheating, it also falls on its own sword when it essentially retracts that accusation and says that no, Manchester United broke no rules. So what is it? For a full discussion, see the Howard deal discussion over at Red Rants.
Here’s a brief preview:
Rule U18 – “No club shall enter into a contract which enables any other party to that contract to acquire the ability materially to influence its policies or the performance of its team.”
What Manchester United did – made a verbal agreement with Everton which is technically not a legal contract. In effect, Manchester United did NOT insert any special clauses in the final contract but because the rules consider legal contracts and not verbal agreements (at least that’s my interpretation), they got away with it.
Read the discussion, join in and tell us what you think.
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