The Premier League has threatened to sue a 13-year-old schoolboy and his parents who blew the whistle on the Liverpool tapping-up scandal, the family claimed on Tuesday night.

The world’s richest league stood accused of issuing a warning that the unnamed boy and his parents would face legal action if they made defamatory comments in public about its handling of the case.

The boy said the alleged threat had made him “frightened” to say what he thought about being left unable to play academy football.

It was unclear why the Premier League would warn of legal action against the boy or his family given its repeated statements pledging to help find a constructive outcome in their dispute with Liverpool.

The alleged threat is understood to have taken place before The Telegraph published fresh claims by the family against the Anfield club on Tuesday.