Premier League fine Palace over team info leak
CRYSTAL PALACE’S turbulent start to the new season continued yesterday after the club were fined by the Premier League following the leaking of team information prior to the vital relegation battle with Cardiff City in April.
Top-flight chiefs upheld a complaint from the Welsh club, who argued Palace officials were in possession of their line-up prior to the clash at the Cardiff City Stadium which the Eagles comfortably won 3-0, courtesy of Jason Puncheon’s double and a strike from Joe Ledley.
“The board found that Crystal Palace breached Rule B.16 and has exercised its summary jurisdiction and fined the club,” read a Premier League statement.
The rule in question states that “each club shall behave towards each other club and the league with the utmost good faith.”
The maximum fine for such an offence is £25,000 but the Premier League has not revealed the level of the financial sanction.
Palace co-chairman Steve Parish, meanwhile, is keen to make a managerial appointment by tomorrow following the shock departure of Tony Pulis less than 48 hours before the start of the new campaign, which began with last-gasp defeat at Arsenal on Saturday.
A quick selection would give the new man in the Selhurst Park hotseat time, if only limited, to work with the Palace squad ahead of Saturday’s home fixture with Sam Allardyce’s West Ham.
Former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood is the favourite to replace Pulis, although Malky MacKay has also been touted and has previously enjoyed a close working relationship with Palace sporting director Iain Moody while the duo were at Cardiff.
Parish has indicated he would favour a candidate with proven Premier League experience either in the dugout or playing capacity, and while Sherwood’s managerial CV is limited, he did captain Blackburn Rovers to the 1995 title before a four-year stint with Spurs.
Sherwood spent five months in charge at White Hart Lane but was sacked despite guiding Tottenham to a sixth-place finish.