Manchester City are celebrating a landmark legal victory against the Premier League regarding the associated-party transaction (APT) rules that regulate commercial spending by state and multi-club ownerships.
The seismic ruling is being viewed by Premier League clubs as a major setback for CEO Richard Masters, as it is set to reshape the future of financial governance in English football.
The verdict could potentially loosen the APT regulations, making it easier for clubs to secure lucrative sponsorship deals with companies closely tied to their owners.
It could also streamline player transfers between clubs under the same ownership.
Many believe this case carries far greater implications for the sport than Manchester City’s separate 115-charge hearing, as the ruling affects the entire league.
A club statement reads: “The Club has succeeded with its claim: the Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules have been found to be unlawful and the Premier League’s decisions on two specific MCFC sponsorship transactions have been set aside
“The Tribunal found that both the original APT rules and the current, (amended) APT Rules violate UK competition law and violate the requirements of procedural fairness.
“The Premier League was found to have abused its dominant position.
“The Tribunal has determined both that the rules are structurally unfair and that the Premier League was specifically unfair in how it applied those rules to the Club in practice.
“The rules were found to be discriminatory in how they operate, because they deliberately excluded shareholder loans.
“As well as these general findings on legality, the Tribunal has set aside specific decisions of the Premier League to restate the fair market value of two transactions entered into by the Club.
“The tribunal held that the Premier League had reached the decisions in a procedurally unfair manner.
“The Tribunal also ruled that there was an unreasonable delay in the Premier League’s fair market value assessment of two of the Club’s sponsorship transactions, and so the Premier League breached its own rules.
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