Premier League confirm rule change impacting Arsenal and Spurs in major blow to Man City

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
The Premier League have confirmed a big rule change that will impact Manchester City and other clubs.

The Premier League have confirmed a major change to Associate Party Transaction rules amid Manchester City’s fight to have them ruled unlawful. Amid a slew of charges over financial breaches, City are currently at war with the Premier League over APT rules, and they recently had an arbitrational panel rule that aspects of the regulations were unlawful.

City were also promising further legal challenges if changes were made to the rules without seeking further guidance from said panel. But the Premier League believe they are operating within the laws when making the APT changes, and on Friday morning, clubs voted to push through the changes.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A Premier League statement read: "The Premier League has conducted a detailed consolation with clubs - informed by multiple opinions from expert, independent Leading Counsel - to draft rule changes that address amendments required to the system.

“This relates to integrating the assessment of Shareholder loans, the removal of some of the amendments made to APT rules earlier this year and changes to the process by which relevant information from the League’s ‘databank’ is shared with a club’s advisors.

"The purpose of the APT rules is to ensure clubs are not able to benefit from commercial deals or reductions in costs that are not at Fair Market Value (FMV) by virtue of relationships with Associated Parties. These rules were introduced to provide a robust mechanism to safeguard the financial stability, integrity and competitive balance of the League.”

It has been reported by TalkSport that the vote was very close, with City having been backed by a number of other Premier League clubs. It is worth noting that this change is not related to the 115 financial charges being faced by City, with the rules coming into place after the takeover of Newcastle United by the Saudi Arabian royal family, albeit through the Public Investment Fund.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The rules were brought in to protect competitive integrity, aiming to stop clubs from artificially inflating commercial deals associated wit their owners, with many Middle-Eastern royal families also owning airlines and other major companies. The rules mean sponsorships must be independently assessed and they are also approved if they are of ‘fair market value’.

In Lehman’s terms, the deal must make financial sense in comparison to other clubs of the same nature, and the rules stop, for example, an airline owned by the club’s owners from offering huge sponsorship deals to the club as a way of increasing the flow of income. This matters because clubs are then able to spend more under the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules.

City were arguing that the rules discriminated against their owners, the Abu Dhabi United Group, which also represents a royal family. The Manchester club issued a 165-page claim against the Premier League that led to a two-week hearing. The legal battle is likely to continue after this latest vote.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.

Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice