October 8 – English champions Manchester City have claimed a partial victory over the Premier League after one of the league’s key regulations relating to financial fairness was challenged.
An independent panel found the Premier League’s rules on sponsorship deals, known as Associated Party Transactions (APTs), break competition law in two specific ways.
But the Premier League said the tribunal’s redacted 175-page document “endorsed the overall objectives, framework and decision-making”.
The APT rules are designed to ensure commercial deals with entities linked to a club’s owners reflect fair market value.
Importantly the case is separate from an ongoing hearing involving City, with the club fighting 115 charges relating to alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules.
This action was a legal challenge against 25 of the regulations in the Premier League’s rulebook as well as its decision to reject two City sponsorship deals.
It is understood fellow top-flight clubs were split over who to support and an emergency meeting will now be held next week to discuss the judgement.
The panel certainly found partly in Manchester City’s favour, agreeing that shareholder loans – where shareholders or ‘associated parties’ lend to or borrow money from the clubs they own – should not be excluded from Premier League rules.
The panel also agreed with City’s claim that an updated version of the APT rules, which came into force in February this year, was unlawful because of wording changes, which tightened the interpretation of what constitutes ‘fair market value’ in commercial agreements.
The two sponsorship deals, with First Abu Dhabi Bank and another with Etihad Aviation Group, were blocked unfairly, the panel found, as the Premier League did not give City all of the information used for its decisions in time for them to respond.
They also found the Premier League, which itself admitted it was understaffed at the time, took several months too long to reach its decision in both cases.
But City’s other claims against the Premier League were dismissed and, saving face, the league said City were “unsuccessful in the majority of (their) challenge”.
City thanked the panel and said the findings found the Premier League to have “abused its dominant position” with its approach and rules.
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