Southampton: Saints chief speaks on club’s legal action against LD Sports

Southampton Chief Executive Martin Semmens has confirmed that the club will be taking legal action against former club sponsor LD Sports.

Saints confirmed last week that the three-year agreement with the Chinese company had been cut short two years early after it became clear that financial commitments were not going to be followed through on.

Some may say that this situation is the club’s fault for choosing a sponsor that so little was known about, and it appears that these poor decisions have produced a legal fight to claim the money that Saints were promised.

Speaking to the Athletic, Semmens said:

"“It’s important for our fans to know that we will pursue them to the end of the Earth until we get our money back but for this season, it was important that we found the right sponsor so we can move forward.“(Legal action is) not being considered. It’s already taken. It’s something we have to do. They have a contract with us. We have commitments, they have commitments, and everybody else around us has followed through on their commitments. We expected them to do the same.”"

Saints have now had to take a one-year deal with Sportsbet.io to plug a significant gap in income, and the difference in the shirt sponsorship deals is said to be around £2m.

More from Saints Marching

• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 2: Arrivals
• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 1: Departures
• It’s time to talk about Gavin Bazunu
• Rain clouds on the horizon? Southampton beat Plymouth Argyle
• A lament for Southampton legend James Ward-Prowse

There will also be a sizeable financial outlay to come as the club replaces all of the replica shirts that fans have already purchased ahead of the 2020/21 campaign.

Overall, this situation is a slight step back for the club in some ways.

Things look to be heading in the right direction in terms of the playing squad and the football on show each week under manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, who has connected more with the Saints fans than a lot of past managers.

Getting some additional financial strength from significant sponsorship agreements will be one of the next steps in helping Saints return to being a top-half club sooner rather than later.

The hope was that this was going to come from LD Sports and that they would promote Saints as a brand in China too, but it has now been confirmed that this vision was too good to be true.

Attracting sponsors will become even harder for a club of Saints’ size now that companies are contending with the financial strains produced by the Coronavirus but talks will be going on behind the scenes throughout this season to try and find a replacement.