City claims partial win over Premier League on APT rules

Manchester City claimed a partial victory over the Premier League on Monday, after an arbitration panel ruling into the Abu Dhabi-owned club’s alleged violations of the English league’s rules on Associated Party Transactions (APT).

The Premier League put its own spin on what some commentators saw as a landmark verdict, saying the panel’s redacted 165-page ruling endorsed the overall objectives and decision-making of the APT system.

The panel, however, found parts of the league’s APT rules broke British competition law, and were also unlawful because clubs were unable to comment on types of data the league would take into account.

The Premier League’s decision in relation to two transactions in 2023, with First Abu Dhabi Bank and Etihad Aviation group, were “reached in a procedurally unfair manner” and must be overturned, the panel ruled.

APT rules were designed to maintain the Premier League’s competitiveness by preventing clubs from inflating the value of sponsorship deals with companies linked to their owners.

City said in a statement that it had succeeded with its claim, and that the Premier League was found, among other things, 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,” City added.

“The rules were found to be discriminatory in how they operate, because they deliberately excluded shareholder loans.”

The Premier League said the majority of City’s challenges had been rejected.

“Moreover, the tribunal found that the rules are necessary in order for the League’s financial controls to be effective,” it added in a statement.

Reigning champion City is also involved in a separate independent hearing into the club’s alleged breaches of Premier League financial regulations which began in September, with a verdict expected some time before the end of the current season.

The club has won eight Premier League titles, the Champions League, three FA Cups, six League Cups, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup since being bought by Sheikh Mansour’s Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008.

The Premier League introduced a temporary ban on clubs being sponsored by firms linked to their owners, following the sale of Newcastle United to a consortium dominated by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) in 2021.

The rules were amended in March after consultation with Premier League clubs, and were approved by the FA.

According to the rules, each APT must be submitted to the Premier League Board, which will conduct a Fair Market Value Assessment.

The ruling said rival clubs Chelsea, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest and Everton were witnesses for City in the arbitration process.

Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton and Hove Albion and West Ham United were witnesses for the Premier League.