Competition Act investigation opened

Competition Act investigation opened

On 15 December 2020, the CMA launched an investigation under Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998 ('CA98') and Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU ('TFEU') into suspected breaches of competition law by the following entities and their affiliates: The Rangers Football Club Limited, Hummel A/S, LBJ Sports Apparel Limited (trading as Elite), Greaves Sports Limited and JD Sports Fashion Plc. The investigation concerns suspected infringements of Chapter I CA98 and Article 101 TFEU in relation to the price at which Rangers-branded replica football kit was sold in the United Kingdom.  

At this stage the CMA believes that it has reasonable grounds to suspect one or more breaches of competition law.  The CMA has not reached a view as to whether there is sufficient evidence of an infringement of competition law for it to issue a statement of objections or, ultimately, an infringement decision, to any party under investigation. Not all cases result in the CMA issuing a statement of objections or an infringement decision.

Further information relating to the investigation is available on the investigation case page.