Report: Liverpool told 11-year-old's father to lie to avoid tapping charges
After receiving a £100,000 fine and a two-year ban on signing academy players for tapping-up an 11-year-old boy, reports have surfaced claiming that Liverpool told the child's father to lie to Premier League investigators.
Related: Liverpool banned from signing youth players after recruitment breach
Liverpool had attempted to lure a former Stoke City school boy, now 13, to Anfield with an all-expenses paid trip and other perks that have since been investigated by the league, making the Merseyside lot the first to be penalised under the Premier League's new strict codes.
That prompted an extensive inquiry from the league, and according to The Telegraph's Ben Rumsby, Liverpool told the boy's father to fabricate elements of the story when asked by investigators.
Rumsby's report is supported by claims from the boy's family, which adds that two Liverpool representatives told the father last September "not to disclose the tapping-up or inducements when interviewed by a lawyer acting on behalf of the Premier League." Liverpool has denied those allegations.
The academy player cannot play for another club until Stoke receives £49,000 in compensation from Liverpool.
A Premier League spokesperson has said that the organisation will not comment further beyond its statement from last Tuesday.