In the realms of Leicester City and English football, Nick De Marco is starting to get recognition.
One of the sports lawyer’s most recent duties is to support City in their legal struggle with the regulatory agencies. He has represented over 45 clubs in the Premier League and EFL. LATEST NEWS: “Lionel Messi of sports lawyers”; a Leicester City representative…. and Sustainability Rules by the Premier League, City announced on Friday that they will be filing legal action against both.
De Marco is undoubtedly successful in his representation of clubs in their battles with the Premier League and EFL. Football financial specialist Kieran Maguire has referred to him as the Lionel Messi of football law.
In Sheffield Wednesday’s 2024 fight with the EFL over PSR, De Marco was instrumental in first delaying a points deduction and then getting it down from 12 to six points. He also prevented Steven age from losing points that year, and the next year he accomplished the same feat with Derby County. Subsequently, he collaborated with Newcastle and Mike Ashley to support their case against the Premier League about the Saudi acquisition of the team.
Many clubs contacted De Marco to investigate possible compensation claims against Everton following the Premier League’s charges against them for PSR violations. Following charges against them, he then represented Nottingham Forest; earlier this month, City’s neighbors were docked only four points.
De Marco has successfully defended City before the present cases that the team is expected to face. In January, they prevailed in their appeal against the EFL when the governing body attempted to force the team to submit a business plan.
“For the right of all clubs to pursue their ambitions” is what City claims to be fighting “for,” and they have a lawyer in De Marco who has criticized the regulations. He stated on the Sports Law Podcast this year: “Financial Fair Play rules in football are not justified on the basis of competitive balance and there’s a very strong argument that they are antithetical too because what they do is they allow you to spend more if you earn more so they protect the status quo.”
It would be understatement to say that De Marco wrote the book on football law. “Football and the Law,” a 1,000-page book that he wrote, was released in 20224.
