What has been said and what next in Man City’s legal battle with Premier League?
A judgement on City’s challenge to the league’s APT rules was published on Monday.
The Premier League has been accused by Manchester City of misleading its clubs as a row over a judgement on rules governing commercial deals intensified.
Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look.
What has happened?
Manchester City wrote to the other 19 top-flight clubs and the Premier League on Monday night to provide “clarifications” to a summary published by the league earlier in the day. The summary was the league’s analysis of a judgement arising from City’s challenge to the Premier League’s associated party transaction (APT) rules.
City said the league’s summary was “misleading” and contained “several inaccuracies”.
Most significantly, City’s general counsel Simon Cliff challenged the league’s assertion that the club had been unsuccessful in the majority of their challenge to the rules. Instead, City said all the APT rules were now void because the panel found them unlawful in certain respects.
City called for “careful reflection” on the rules rather than a “kneejerk reaction” to amend them, warning that doing so risked a further legal challenge.
What has the Premier League said?
Sources close to the league also pointed out that a meeting of clubs called for October 17 will be to discuss the implications of the panel judgement, not to vote through amendments to the APT rules.
Where does this leave us?
City disagree emphatically and say the whole system is now void.
On top of that clubs must now consider how shareholder loans can be incorporated into the APT rules, which the panel said they must be in order for the rules to be compliant.
Can assessments of whether such loans were issued at fair market value be done retrospectively, or will the rules only apply to new loans?
So are City right that the rules are all void?
“Ultimately, City are right that they have won on elements of the case but also the Premier League is right because the body of rules as a whole, and the principles behind the rules more importantly, have been shown to be lawful. (The Premier League) just hasn’t gone as far as they should have done in implementing the rules.”
