Premier League blow to City: they win the battle over 'inflated sponsorships'

Premier League clubs have approved amendments to the rules on Associated Party Transactions (APT) at a meeting in central London.

Of the 20 teams in the Premier League, only four of them voted against these proposed changes at the meeting (Manchester City, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United). The English league needed at least 14 clubs to vote in favour for the amendments to be approved, and in the end there were two more.

The Premier League, which cannot deal with APT deals and is potentially open to damages from other clubs trying to secure deals with associated parties in the interim, was prepared to present its list of amendments as quickly as possible.

Of the clubs that have opposed, Manchester City is the one that has had the most conflicts, as last summer it had legal talks with the Premier League about how this issue should be resolved, coming to the conclusion by the Sky Blues that "no vote should take place until the court has provided its full guidance on the APT rules".

In addition, Aston Villa co-owner Nassef Sawiris said that "they will vote against the proposed APT rules" calling for the vote to be delayed, backing Manchester City. Arsenal, Bournemouth, Brentford, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester United, West Ham and Wolverhampton supported the Premier League with evidence during the summer arbitration.

The Premier League asked clubs to vote on the amendments so that the rules are legal and comply with UK competition law. This includes the addition of shareholder loans to the Fair Market Value (FMV) assessment, the removal of some of the amendments made to the APT rules earlier this year and changes to the way clubs access the league's database, which is used to make decisions on FMV.

Simon Cliff, Manchester City's general counsel, sent a message to the English FA and the rest of the clubs in the Premier League warning that voting in favour of these amendments "involves a material risk".

Premier League statement

The rule amendments address the findings of an arbitration tribunal following a legal challenge by Manchester City to the APT system earlier this year.

The Premier League has conducted detailed consultation with clubs, informed by multiple opinions from expert and independent lawyers, to draft rule changes that address the necessary amendments to the system.

This relates to the integration of shareholder loan assessment, the removal of some of the amendments made to the APT rules earlier this year and changes to the process by which relevant information from the league's 'bank of data' is shared with a club's advisors.

The purpose of the RPT rules is to ensure that clubs cannot benefit from commercial deals or cost reductions that are not at fair market value (FMV) by virtue of relationships with associated parties. These rules were introduced to provide a robust mechanism to safeguard the financial stability, integrity and competitive balance of the league.