English Premier League leaders Liverpool FC are being sued by sports sponsorship agency Winlink for a reported GBP £1.1m. 

According to SBC News the dispute, which is being heard at the High Court, involves Gibraltar-based bookmaker BetVictor’s £15m sponsorship of Liverpool’s training kit. 

Winlink claims that it had been “heavily engaged over a number of years in securing a successful introduction,” and that led to BetVictor entering the £5m per year deal between the 2016/17 and 2018/19 seasons. 

However, Liverpool FC are arguing that Winlink were not involved in securing the deal, and that it was the result of work by its former Head of Global Partnerships, Rafaella Valentino – who happens to be a friend of Andreas Meinrad, CEO of BetVictor. 

Proceedings in the case began yesterday, with Winlinks represented by Andrew Sutcliffe QC, who pointed to the agency’s track record of securing bookmaker introductions for clubs including Arsenal, Chelsea, Inter Milan, and Juventus, and receiving commissions for such. 

Representing Liverpool FC, Robert Anderson QC, argued that Winlink’s services played no part in securing the BetVictor deal.

The case is expected to last all week, with the final judgement being delivered, by Judge Mark Pelling QC, at a later date. 

AYO.NEWS says:

It’s obviously not appropriate to comment on an ongoing case, but needless to say it could have big implications for the business model and viability of agencies like Winlink if it loses the case. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020