London City Lionesses fined £15,000 for approaching player through DMs
London City Lionesses have been fined £15,000 for making an approach to a Southampton player via social media, without her club's permission.
The club newly promoted to the Women's Super League (WSL) admitted to the Football Association's charge, which related to an attempt to sign the player from their Women's Championship rivals during last summer's transfer window. The player's name was redacted from the published written findings of an independent regulatory commission. The hearing took place in March 2025.
Related: Blackburn forced to withdraw from WSL 2 on 'sad day for women's football'
The regulatory commission found that on 9 August 2024, London City Lionesses' managing director, Sarah Batters, sent the player a message saying: 'Hiya – just so you know, we've made the approach and have spoken to [redacted name] and they are open to sell … there's the question of the fee, but what would your salary expectations be? Obviously I would love to make this happen!!'
That message came three hours before Southampton responded to an earlier email received from London City's recruitment manager, with Southampton explaining in their reply that they 'won't be engaging in conversations with you regarding a transfer', with Southampton's email adding 'we have received interest from a number of clubs and some are prepared to meet the release fee' for the player.
London City's recruitment manager had explained in an email on 6 August that they would not be able to pay the release clause in her contract, the unspecific price of which had been clarified with her agent in a phone call earlier on that day. The hearing also heard that Batters had contacted the player via social media in July to ascertain the contact details for her agent.
The regulatory commission, which noted that London City had apologised and cooperated with the disciplinary process, also revealed that London City had said they had been prepared to pay £150,000 to sign the player, and that sum was taken into account when calculating their £15,000 fine.
Next season London City Lionesses will be the first fully independent women's club to compete in the WSL, with no affiliation to a men's side. They are owned by the American businesswoman Michele Kang, who also owns the recently renamed French champions OL Lyonnes and the US-based club Washington Spirit.
They are understood to have paid a second-tier record transfer fee to sign the striker Isobel Goodwin from Sheffield United last September, believed to be in excess of £100,000. She went on to be the Women's Championship's top scorer this past season.
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