Manchester City Football Club has won a significant fight with the Premier League over rules governing transactions involving linked parties. The verdict came after the Rule X Arbitral Tribunal Award was issued, which shone light on the Premier League’s illegal treatment of these regulations.
The Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules, which were at the heart of the dispute, were intended to control transactions between clubs and parties associated with them, such as sponsors or owners.
Manchester City challenged the Premier League’s application of these rules to certain of its sponsorship arrangements, saying that the requirements were neither fair or legitimate.
The panel agreed with Manchester City’s arguments and ruled that the Premier League’s APT regulations were illegal. The tribunal concluded that both the original and revised versions of the APT regulations violated UK competition legislation.
It also claimed that the regulations were applied unfairly, particularly against Manchester City.
In response to the verdict, Manchester City issued a statement expressing gratitude to the tribunal and happiness with the conclusion. The club stated that two specific sponsorship transactions that had been the subject of Premier League inquiry had been set aside as a result of the tribunal’s judgment.
The panel criticized how the Premier League enforced the APT regulations. It argued that the laws were intrinsically unfair, and that Manchester City was punished unfairly under these regulations. Furthermore, the panel found that the restrictions improperly excluded shareholder loans, adding to their discriminatory nature.
Furthermore, the tribunal determined that the Premier League behaved improperly in reassessing the fair market value of two of Manchester City’s sponsorship deals. The panel found that the Premier League not only made unjust rulings, but also delayed the process excessively, breaking its own regulations.