Serie A football clubs Torino and Fiorentina are seeking financial damages from IMG and other unnamed parties, the agency has confirmed in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
IMG’s confirmation came after Italy’s competition regulator, L’Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, ruled in May that IMG, as well as the MP & Silva and B4 agencies, had been party to anti-competitive agreements in acquiring rights to Serie A, Serie B, the Coppa Italia and the Italian Super Cup.
Combined compensation of about €410m (£361m/$451m) is being sought from IMG and the other unnamed parties through the claims, which have been filed at the Court of Milan.
The filing added that IMG intends to fight the claims, with the agency adding that the clubs cannot show that they were affected directly by the activities in question.
The identities of the other parties involved in the claims have not been disclosed.
The MP & Silva subsidiaries that were implicated, as well as the agency’s parent company, are either in liquidation or close to liquidation. B4 is also facing a highly uncertain future.
MP & Silva was fined almost €64m by the competition authority in May, with B4 handed a €3.1m fine and IMG fined almost €344,000.
Last month, Serie A clubs met to discuss the possibility of launching a damages claim against the agencies.