Man City 'set for October trial' vs Premier League over latest rule change challenge

Manchester City are reportedly set to take the Premier League to trial over Associated Party Transaction rules.

Manchester City will reportedly return to the courtroom in October to challenge the Premier League's Associated Party Transaction rules.

City have already won one legal challenge over the Premier League regarding the APT rules, which were introduced in 2021 following Newcastle's takeover by a Saudi Arabian-led consortium. That challenge last year saw City successfully argue that the rules were unlawful on multiple grounds, including the fact they excluded shareholder loans from fair market value assessments.

That prompted the Premier League to make amendments to ensure deals struck between clubs and entities linked to their ownership are for fair market value.

However, City launched arbitration proceedings on January 20 this year against the validity of those amended APT rules and The Lawyer reported on Tuesday that the case will come to trial in mid-October. Details of City’s challenge were shared with the other 19 top-flight clubs on April 3, with their statement of claim understood to be dated March 27.

The Times reported at the time that the claim criticised the Premier League’s treatment of shareholder loans under the new APT rules, saying it is 'distorting economic competition' between clubs.

When the Premier League tabled their amendments, 16 teams voted in favour of the amended rules at a meeting last November. But City have again challenged the changes and now look to be heading back to trial. City and the Premier League declined to comment, when contacted by the PA news agency, on reports of a date being set.

The intention of the APT rules is to prevent clubs inflating the value of sponsorship and other deals in order to artificially boost revenue, which would effectively increase a club’s spending power.

City’s challenges to the APT rules are completely separate to their outstanding 115 charges for alleged breaches of financial rules which were heard before an independent tribunal between September and December last year. City strongly deny all charges and a verdict is expected soon.

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