JD Sports escapes fine for price fixing football kits 

Sportswear giant JD Sports was spared a fine after it colluded with Leicester City to restrict competition in the sales of football kits.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) watchdog said the pair had admitted to breaking the rules in 2018 and 2019, resulting in a £880,000 fine for Leicester.

But JD Sports escaped a financial penalty as it had alerted the CMA in 2021. The retailer agreed to stop selling the club’s gear online for the 2018/2019 season, and agreed to not undercut the club online and excluded its merchandise from a promotion offering free delivery.

Michael Grenfell, at the CMA, said: ‘We have provisionally found Leicester and JD colluded to share out markets and fix prices, with the result that fans may have ended up paying more than they would otherwise have done. 

‘The fine sends a clear message anti-competitive collusion will not be tolerated.’