The Premier League has once again been made to look foolish by Manchester City’s smart lawyers and run up yet another big legal bill. The top flight competitionhas been dealt a devastating blow in its legal battle with Manchester City after its sponsorship rules enforced between 2021 and 2024 were declared void.
An independent tribunal ruled in October last year that
three elements of the rules regarding Associated Party Transactions (APT) were
unlawful, in particular around loans from owners and shareholders to clubs.
City’s interpretation of the initial decision was that the
APT rules in their entirety were void and that the unlawful elements could not
simply be struck off. The Premier League dismissed these concerns and pushed
ahead with amendments which were approved by 16 of the 20 top-flight clubs in
November.
The rules, introduced in December 2021 in the wake of the
Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle United, were designed to maintain the
competitiveness of the Premier League by preventing clubs from inflating
commercial deals with companies linked to their owners. The rules had also been
amended in February 2024.
The decision could have wide-ranging consequences including
claims from clubs seeking compensation for any deals undervalued between
December 2021 and November 2024 as a result of the APT rules.
It will also be viewed by the City legal team, led by Lord
Pannick KC and Paul Harris KC with the law firm Freshfields, as a significant
victory. The Premier League is now facing legal costs in excess of £10million
and questions over its fitness to regulate.
Opponents of a government backed football regulator might like to bear
this in mind.
League chief executive R ichard Masters wrote to the
league’s 20 clubs at 5pm on Friday, acknowledging that the rules from 2021 to
2024 were now void and unenforceable, but his letter claimed new rules
introduced in November were not affected. However, the same tribunal has now
been asked to judge whether those new rules are indeed lawful.
Simon Cliff, City’s general counsel, responded by accusing
Masters of “misleading” clubs and maintaining that, by finding three elements
of the APT rules to be unlawful, the whole system was technically void.
Masters argued that the unlawful elements of the APT rules
could simply be taken out, leaving the remainder in place. City argued that was
not possible, and the tribunal had agreed with them and found the rules to be
unlawful as a matter of competition law and public law.
Should the November rules also be declared void, it would
open the door for the English champions, majority-owned by Abu Dhabi, to strike
significantly higher sponsorship agreements with associated parties than
previously allowed, including with Etihad, their stadium and shirt sponsor.
The continuing legal battle between City and the Premier
League comes amid the case into the club’s alleged 130 breaches of financial
rules, which is due to reach its conclusion in the next few weeks.
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