Manchester City Football Club has emerged victorious in its legal battle against the Premier League after an Arbitral Tribunal ruled in the club’s favour regarding the Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules.
The Tribunal’s decision, published today, declared that the APT rules were unlawful and that the Premier League had acted unfairly and in violation of competition law when applying these regulations to the club’s sponsorship transactions.
In a statement, Manchester City expressed gratitude to the distinguished members of the Arbitral Tribunal and welcomed the findings, which mark a significant victory for the club in its ongoing dispute with the Premier League.
The key elements of the ruling are as follows:
- APT Rules Deemed Unlawful: The Tribunal found that both the original and amended APT rules violated UK competition law and procedural fairness requirements. These rules, which governed the way clubs reported transactions with associated parties, were deemed structurally unfair.
- Premier League Abuse of Dominant Position: The Tribunal determined that the Premier League abused its dominant position in enforcing these rules. The league’s decisions in relation to Manchester City’s sponsorship deals were deemed procedurally unfair and discriminatory, particularly because shareholder loans were deliberately excluded from the rules.
- Premier League Decisions Overturned: The Tribunal has set aside the Premier League’s decisions on two specific sponsorship transactions involving Manchester City. The Premier League had previously reassessed the fair market value of these deals, but the Tribunal ruled that the league’s decisions were made in an unfair manner, and there was an unreasonable delay in the assessment process.
- Unfair Application of Rules: The Tribunal held that the APT rules were discriminatory in nature and had been applied unfairly in practice to Manchester City. The club had previously challenged the way the Premier League handled the financial aspects of its sponsorship agreements, arguing that the rules were designed in a way that disproportionately affected Manchester City.
- Premier League’s Breach of Rules: As part of the ruling, the Tribunal concluded that the Premier League had violated its own regulations in its handling of Manchester City’s sponsorship deals, particularly by delaying the assessment of the transactions’ fair market value.
The ruling is seen as a major victory for Manchester City, as the club had long argued that the Premier League’s application of the APT rules was not only unfair but also in breach of competition law.
