APT (Related Party Transactions) is one of the new rules that has been introduced in recent years and it has caused a lot of trouble for many clubs. Man City are one of the teams that have been accused of breaking the rules and have had to work hard over the past few seasons to get out of trouble.
After a long time of being accused of violations by the Premier League, Man City announced that they had won the lawsuit. However, the special point in this case is that the Premier League also announced the same. The court's decision clearly stated that the rules, the amendments to the Premier League's APT in December 2021 and February 2024, were "unlawful". The court said that it violated UK competition law because it deliberately excluded shareholder loans. When a football team borrows money from its owner, it is usually interest-free.
The Premier League has previously accused Man City of using sponsorship deals with companies linked to the owners to inflate revenues, allowing them to spend more. The Etihad team has repeatedly denied this. A statement from Etihad on October 7 (UK time) said the Premier League had been found by the court to have abused its position in the tournament to accuse the club.
Man City then also requested to cancel two rulings that the sponsorship contracts of Emirates Air Group and First Abu Dhabi Bank were in violation of the APT.
The Premier League, on the other hand, was not upset that Man City escaped punishment. On the contrary, the organizers "welcomed" the court's decision. The Premier League admitted that the decisions to amend the APT were "somewhat" inconsistent with UK competition law. However, they said that these actions supported the overall objectives, framework and decision-making process of the entire APT system.
The organisers added that the tribunal had considered the APT rules to be “necessary” as a means of ensuring the effectiveness of the “Profitability and Sustainability Rules” (PSR), thereby supporting and delivering sporting integrity and sustainability in the Premier League.
The Premier League said the tribunal had considered the APT rules to be “necessary” as a means of ensuring the effectiveness of the “Profitability and Sustainability Rules” (PSR), thereby supporting and delivering sporting integrity and sustainability in the Premier League.
The Premier League added that it would continue to operate the APT system taking into account any “new vulnerabilities” that have emerged from the court ruling, and pledged that any non-compliance with competition law would be “resolved quickly and effectively”.
The ruling on 7 October was handed down by a three-man arbitration panel. It came after City challenged the league’s APT rules. The case was due to go to trial in June.
An amendment to the current APT rules was scheduled to be discussed at a Premier League shareholders meeting on Thursday this week, but it was pulled from the agenda ahead of schedule.
