Sporting goods chains such as JD Sports Fashion and Elite Sports were ordered to pay fines of up to 2.24 million euros on Tuesday.
The UK Competition Authority (CMA) on Tuesday imposed fines totaling around 2 million pounds (2.24 million euros) on sporting goods chains which had fixed the price of certain products of the football club Rangers F.C. JD Sports Fashion and Elite Sports”have infringed competition law by fixing the selling pricesof certain Rangers jerseys and other clothing items, between September 2018 and July 2019, according to a statement from the CMA.
The Scottish Football Clubalso took part in the collusion“, but only on certain shirts and for a shorter period, from September to mid-November 2018, specifies the gendarme of the competition. JD Sports is fined the heaviest, nearly 1.5 million pounds, while Elite Sports will have to pay 459,000 pounds and Rangers FC 225,000 pounds. The three entities admitted to having acted illegally and cooperated in the investigation.
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«At a time when many people are concerned about the rising cost of living, it is important that football fans can benefit from competitively priced products.“, estimated Michael Grenfell, an official of the CMA, quoted in the press release. “No director or senior executive of JD was implicated in the alleged actsand the company has sincetaken a number of steps to strengthen its competition compliance program“Assured JD Sports in a press release. The group, which specifies that it does not intend to appeal, had spent a provision of around 2 million pounds in its accounts in anticipation of this fine. Its title lost 2.24% to 100.55 pence on Tuesday around 09:15 GMT on the London Stock Exchange.