Financial Rule Breach? The Times: Manchester City May Have Won an Initial Victory

According to The Times, Manchester City appears to have won a significant victory over the Premier League in the case of Associated Party Transactions (APT).

Previously, Manchester City was accused by the Premier League of more than 100 financial irregularities, and the club has been actively defending itself. As early as June last year, The Times revealed that Manchester City planned unprecedented legal action in response to the accusations, including alleging discriminatory behavior by the Premier League towards “Gulf owners” and seeking “damages.” One of Manchester City’s main objectives is to attempt to invalidate the so-called APT rules, believing these rules are illegal.

According to reports, Manchester City seems to have achieved initial success in this legal battle, a victory that could have “potentially significant implications” for their dispute with the Premier League. According to multiple British media outlets, a meeting scheduled for this morning to vote on amending the APT rules was canceled at the last minute. Although this incident is not directly related to the ongoing investigation and charges against Manchester City by the Premier League, it may help reduce the number of accusations they face and, consequently, lessen potential penalties. The results of the penalties are expected to be announced in early 2025, many of which involve Manchester City’s sponsorship agreements.

The Times noted, “At the Premier League’s shareholders’ meeting of 20 clubs originally scheduled for Thursday in central London, there were plans to vote on a specific rule amendment to limit access to a database containing commercial information of rival clubs. However, this vote was withdrawn at the last minute. It is widely believed that this was due to Manchester City’s legal team—led by Lord Pannick—successfully convincing an independent body that changes to the regulations regarding sponsorship agreements were necessary.”

These rules were introduced after the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s acquisition of Newcastle United in December 2021, aimed at preventing clubs from overstating their value through commercial agreements with owner-related businesses to ensure fair competition in the Premier League. Under these rules, “all transactions must undergo independent evaluation to determine their ‘fair market value’ (FMV).” However, in a 165-page legal document, Manchester City claimed to be the subject of “discrimination” and described these rules as “tyranny of the majority,” believing that they were specifically formulated by its competitors to curb its on-field success.