Liverpool fined £100,000 and handed two-year ban on signing academy players

Liverpool are third in the Premier League table this season

Liverpool have been fined £100,000 by the Premier League and handed a two-year ban on signing academy players from other clubs for a rule breach.

It relates to the club's approach to a 12-year-old academy player at Stoke City in September last year.

Liverpool will be banned from signing any academy players who have been registered with a Premier League or EFL club in the previous 18 months.

This second year of the ban will be suspended for a three-year period.

In September 2016 Liverpool made an application to register the Stoke City Academy player and compensation was agreed.

But the application was rejected by the Premier League Board.

An investigation by the Premier League found that Liverpool spoke to the youngster and his family before they should have and also paid for him and some of his family to attend a game at Anfield.

Liverpool also offered to pay the player's school fees, which were being paid by Stoke at this time, but this was a breach of newly-introduced regulations which state a benefit can only be offered if it is applicable to all youngsters across the club's academy and this was not the case.

Premier League rules ban the offer of any inducements from clubs to encourage a move.

Liverpool have admitted the rule breaches.