Manchester City appear to have scored a victory in their legal battle against the Premier League over Associated Party Transaction Rules (APT) – after a vote on an amendment to the system was dropped from this morning’s top-flight meeting.
City declined to comment. However, Mail Sport understands clubs were due to discuss changes to the rules, which City claimed were unlawful, at the summit in London.
Sources have disclosed that the vote was removed at the ‘last minute’, in what may be interpreted as a heavy indication that City have been successful in their legal challenge – given there would be little point in voting on amendments to rules that may soon be subject to change themselves, or even become inactive.
The potentially significant development comes with the Premier League’s case against City for 115 alleged breaches of financial rules ongoing.
In June, it emerged that City had taken the unprecedented of suing the competition in a move that sparked civil war in the top flight.
A vote on amending the Premier League’s sponsorship rules has been dropped in what could signal victory for Manchester City
Pep Guardiola’s side took legal action against these sanctions that they deem as a form of ‘discrimination’ in February
They claimed the APT rules, which are aimed at preventing clubs from penning inflated sponsorship deals with companies linked to their owners, were unlawful and claimed damages. A two-week hearing was held and the results of which are yet to be made public.
City claimed the rules, introduced in December 2021 following the Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle United, were aimed at ending their success on the field and described them as a ‘tyranny of the majority’, arguing the league’s system of requiring at least 14 clubs (two thirds of those who vote) to green light rule changes is unfair.
If City have been successful, it remains to be seen if such a ruling would impact on their ongoing hearing.
Allegations over sponsorship deals funded by companies linked to Abu Dhabi are central to many of the 115 charges.
This morning’s vote was due to be held on a databank, which was created around the APT system in 2021 which required clubs to submit commercial contracts to a league repository.
A vote was supposed to take place today in a Premier League shareholders’ meeting
Clubs were set to vote on whether to restrict access to the databank and prevent bodies such as tribunals from doing so before judging on fair market value. The databank is seen as a pillar of the APT rules. However, it did not take place after an amendment was pulled from the agenda.
A spokesperson for City said: ‘As you know, we are not in a position to comment.’ The Premier League have been contacted for comment.