Manchester City Football Club has won its legal case against the Premier League over the enforcement of the Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules. This follows the publication of the Rule X Arbitral Tribunal Award, which determined that several aspects of the Premier League’s approach to the APT regulations were unlawful.
In a statement released on Monday, Manchester City expressed satisfaction with the tribunal’s findings and extended gratitude to the members of the Arbitral Tribunal for their thorough consideration of the matter. The club emphasized that the Premier League’s decisions regarding two of its sponsorship transactions had been overturned by the tribunal.
“The club has succeeded with its claim: the Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules have been found to be unlawful, and the Premier League’s decisions on two specific MCFC sponsorship transactions have been set aside,” the statement read.
The tribunal criticized the structure and application of the APT rules, stating that both the original and amended versions violated UK competition law and procedural fairness. It further pointed out that the Premier League had applied the rules in a discriminatory manner, particularly in the way it handled Manchester City’s sponsorship deals.
One key finding was that the APT rules were unfairly implemented, excluding shareholder loans from their scope, which affected the Premier League’s judgments on the club’s transactions. As a result, the tribunal overturned the Premier League’s decisions regarding the fair market value of two sponsorship deals involving Manchester City.
The tribunal also found that the Premier League’s handling of these matters was procedurally unfair, citing an unreasonable delay in the assessment of the club’s sponsorship deals. This delay, according to the ruling, amounted to a breach of the Premier League’s own regulations.
