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The Liverpool tapping-up scandal was "finally resolved on Wednesday after the club and Premier League agreed to pay the school fees and compensation of the 13-year-old victim," according to Ben Rumsby of the London TELEGRAPH. More than a year after Liverpool’s "illicit pursuit" of the unnamed schoolboy left his family in thousands of pounds of debt and him unable to play academy football until Stoke City was paid £49,000 ($66,520), Liverpool and the league "reached an out-of-court settlement with his parents." That "spared the boy being thrown out of the private school he had been attending since the age of eight," initially on a two-year scholarship secured by his father and then at the expense of Stoke City. Liverpool, which was banned from signing academy players from other league teams "over the saga" and fined £100,000 ($135,800), faced being sued by the boy’s family "following the collapse of a deal" to sign him from Stoke City that would have seen the club cover his school fees (
TELEGRAPH, 9/20).
'ONGOING' INVESTIGATION: Rumsby also reported an investigation into Man City’s conduct involving youth players is "ongoing," FIFA confirmed. A day after it emerged Chelsea was "being probed over a potential breach" of the governing body’s regulations, Man City was revealed to be "under similar scrutiny." The club denied any knowledge of the investigation on Wednesday and "questioned whether it was the same inquiry" into its recruitment of Benjamin Garré from Argentine side Vélez Sarsfield, which was revealed a year ago. FIFA refused to confirm whether the "ongoing" investigation related to a separate matter, while Man City did not respond to a request for clarification (TELEGRAPH, 9/21).
IN SPAIN: In Madrid, José Félix Díaz reported La Liga sides Valencia and Villarreal are "being investigated by FIFA over alleged irregularities in the transfers of underage players." Both of the clubs have been "looking into the flagged cases for some time and are attempting to resolve any issues without being hit with a sanction like a transfer ban," as Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid were before them -- although Real Madrid successfully appealed that punishment (MARCA, 9/21).
