Liverpool banned from signing youth players after recruitment breach
Liverpool received a £100,000 fine and a two-year ban on signing academy players after the Merseyside club was found to have offered inducements - including an all-expenses-paid trip to Anfield - to a former Stoke City academy player last year, the Premier League announced Wednesday.
As a result of the breach, the Reds cannot sign academy players from any club in the English football league pyramid until next March. The second year of the ban is suspended for a three-year probationary period, according to The Telegraph's Chris Bascombe.
Premier League rules strictly prohibit teams from approaching others' youth players with any kind of special promises or packages. Liverpool also tempted the 12-year-old and his family with an offer to pay for private school, but the club reportedly reneged on that deal once it learned it could not pay the player's tuition unless it privately educated every one of its youth players.
The player's parents were apparently left with thousands of pounds of debts stemming from private school fees.
Liverpool agreed to pay compensation to Stoke when putting forth an application in September 2016 to sign the schoolboy, but the Premier League Board ultimately rejected the proposal.
"Liverpool have co-operated with the Premier League’s inquiries in a timely and thorough manner and admitted the rule breaches asserted against them," read a league statement.
Considering the recent success of the club's academy, the transfer ban could have damaging effects on the Reds' recruitment efforts:
Some of the players signed by Liverpool academy in last five years: Raheem Sterling, Sheyo Ojo, Jordon Ibe, Yan Dhanda, Emeka Obi #lfc
— Ed Aarons (@ed_aarons) April 5, 2017
The youth player cannot play for another club until Stoke receives £49,000 in compensation from Liverpool.