The Football Association has asked Manchester City for information on the hacking dispute with Liverpool in a significant escalation of the controversy.

The involvement of the governing body, which wants to examine any evidence gathered by City to see if there is a case to pursue, will increase pressure on the Premier League to launch its own investigations into how Liverpool came to pay City £1 million after a complaint from the Manchester club that their scouting system had been hacked.

The league has so far declined to become involved, despite a rule stating that “each club shall behave towards each other club and the League with the utmost good faith”, but that could change after the FA’s written request to see evidence.

The FA’s