Re: HMRC going after football
I think HMRC had a nibble at Arsenal paying for the image rights of Dennis Bergkamp and David Platt some years ago. They lost then though as I think it was accepted some of the PL players are "brands" and there were clauses in the standard PL contracts, which allowed for separate agreements. Also I think many people playing abroad and then coming to the Prem routinely had separate image rights deals in place (via limited companies) which were dealt with separately.
I think the comment about 2nd choice Championship left backs being paid image rights in line with Ballon D'Or winners shows the tax abuse. I am assuming HMRC feels they can get more joy from attacking EFL Championship players as their contracts are not as robust.