On Tuesday evening Manchester City launched “unprecedented legal action” against Premier League, shaking up top-flight English football. City are still awaiting an outcome for 115 charges for allegedly breaching financial rule, charges strongly denied by club with a hearing set for November.
While they await hearing which is expected to last six weeks, Premier League champions have reportedly taken legal action against the division. According to The Times, City are looking to end league’s Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules. They claim these rules are unlawful.
Under APT, introduced following Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle in 2021, clubs are stopped from inflating sponsorship deals with firms linked to their owners. Instead, all deals have to be independently deemed as of “fair market value” FMV.
However inside a 165-page legal document, Manchester City claim that the rules have been approved by rivals to stifle their success on the pitch. They describe it as a “tyranny of majority.”
Manchester City Could Turn To Super League If They Loose
The club has accused rivals of “discrimination against Gulf ownership” after rules were implemented shortly after Newcastle United’s Saudi takeover. The new case launched by City is not directly related to 115 financial charges they are facing. This new case could have significant impact.
City are still awaiting outcome for 115 charges. These charges include failure to provide accurate financial information between 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons. They also include failure to provide accurate details of player and manager payments during the same period. Additionally alleged breaches of Premier League and UEFA financial rules are part of the charges. A total of 35 charges relate to failure to cooperate with Premier League investigations into matter between December 2018 and February 2023.
Sponsorship deals linked with their owner’s companies have become central to accusations filed against Manchester giants. City now claim “there is no rational or logical connection between club’s financial non-sustainability and its receipt of revenues from entities linked to ownerships.”
If league’s APT rules are found to be unlawful, Manchester City’s defense in the parent case will be significantly strengthened. However if City lose their challenge over APT regulations, their relationship with Premier League will be at an all-time low. This could see them seek to rejoin European Super League. Italian giants Juventus recently became the latest team to pull out of ESL. This leaves Barcelona and Real Madrid committed, as it stands.
On other hand if City are successful, it is likely to signal an end to Premier League’s democratic system. This system requires agreement of at least 14 clubs or two thirds of those who vote, to implement rule changes. City’s legal argument contends that this gives majority unacceptable levels of control.
