NZ Herald. By .
Up to three of the six challengers for the 2021 America's Cup in Auckland are the target of legal action to be heard by the Cup's arbitration panel.
Emirates Team New Zealand yesterday released a brief statement confirming the panel will address a “case underway involving applications in relation to requested Protocol Amendments and the validity of Late Entry Challenges”.
Further detail was not disclosed; America's Cup teams go into communications lockdown when the Cup's arbitration panel is called into action.
However, yachting sources indicate the case involves late payments by up to three teams – certainly the Dutch challenge, possibly that of Malta and even the US's Stars & Stripes.
The Dutch entry may have triggered the involvement of Team New Zealand's longtime ally and Challenger of Record for the 2021 Cup, Luna Rossa.
The joint challenge from the Royal Netherlands Yacht Club Muiden and Royal Maas Yacht Club needed a change in the protocol, the document which sets the rules for the design, construction, crewing and racing of the boats.
The Herald stated last year that the announcement of the Dutch challenge may be the first real test of the relationship between Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa.
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