Man City claims the Premier League is “misleading” clubs over the ATP regulations.
In relation to a court ruling pertaining to premier league regulations on business transactions, Manchester City has charged the Premier League of “misleading” clubs.
In a letter dated Monday night, City contested the league’s interpretation of the results and stated that all associated party transaction (APT) regulations were now null and void. The four-time champions also wrote to Newcastle, the other 18 teams, and the league.
In an email obtained by the PA news agency, the club’s general counsel Simon Cliff stated, “Unfortunately, the summary is misleading and contains several inaccuracies.”
The Premier League’s recommendation that new APT regulations be passed within the next ten days, however, is much more concerning.
We noted that the lengthy, hurried process of creating the initial APT Rules was counterproductive and would lead to anti-competitive regulations when the Premier League commented on and proposed them in late 2021. The current prize completely validates those worries.
“The APT regulations have been ruled illegal by the tribunal. According to MCFC, this implies that the APT regulations are null and void and have been since 2021.
City filed a lawsuit earlier this year, claiming that the APT regulations violated competition law.
The purpose of the APT regulations is to guarantee that transactions with organizations connected to a club’s owners are made for fair market value rather than artificially inflated amounts.
After the arbitration panel determined that the rules were invalid due to their exclusion of shareholder loans, City declared victory.
Cliff informed clubs that it was “strange” that the league had stated in its synopsis that City had failed in most of their challenges.
Although MCFC’s legal challenge did not win on every point, the club did not have to demonstrate that the APT regulations are illegal for a variety of reasons.
The league is believed to have summoned a club meeting to consider implementing the modifications it indicated could be made “quickly and effectively” to the regulations resulting from the tribunal judgment.
Cliff cautioned that a “kneejerk reaction” to changing the rules at this time could result in additional legal action.
He stated that “careful reflection” was required for the next steps.
The Premier League declined to comment but stands by its summary, and rejects any suggestion that it was either wrong or misleading.
Additionally, sources close to the league emphasized that there will be no voting on rule changes during the clubs meeting scheduled for next Thursday; instead, the meeting will just serve as a forum for discussing the rules.
The league’s summary stated that the tribunal’s decision had “endorsed the overall objectives, framework and decision-making of the APT system” and that clubs may “quickly and effectively remedie” the “discrete elements” of the rules that were determined to be illegal.
As to the summary, “Manchester City presented a comprehensive objection to the validity, structure, arrangement, and execution of the APT regulations.”
“The club’s challenge was mostly unsuccessful. Notably, the Tribunal found that the APT regulations were appropriate, served a justifiable goal, and were established to
The tribunal determined that the rules were illegal not only because they excluded shareholder loans but also because they were procedurally unfair, as clubs are not allowed to comment on the information the league uses to determine whether a deal was completed for fair market value.
The Premier League board’s decisions about the value of sponsorship deals with Etihad Airways and First Abu Dhabi Bank were also overturned by the tribunal on the grounds that City was not given access to the data used in the decision-making process before the club was informed of the results.
