Keith Wyness reacts as Man City score legal ‘victory’ against Premier League
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness has insisted the Man City Associated Party Transaction (APT) legal case is different to their 115 charges fight with the Premier League.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – revealed he has heard that “both sides are going to win points” in the APT rules case.
According to Times journalist Matt Lawton (26 September), Man City appear to have secured a “potentially significant victory” after a Premier League vote on APT rule amendments was dropped from Thursday’s meeting.
After a two-week private arbitration hearing took place in June, a full decision is now expected to be delivered by the end of September.
Meanwhile, City and the Premier League started their 115 charges face-off in London last week (16 September), with that hearing expected to go on for around 10 weeks.
Man City APT ‘victory’ has no bearing on 115 charges, says Wyness
Wyness suggested changes to APT rules could also have implications for Saudi-backed Newcastle.
He told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “This is a straightforward measurement exercise about the value of sponsorships.
“At the moment, you can’t sell your shirt sponsorship for £1billion to an associated party.
“It’s about finding reasonable value and trying to work out if the deal is fair market value.
“It’s establishing those kind of benchmarks and making sure the rules aren’t bent.
“From what I’m hearing, both sides are going to win points on this.
“The clubs themselves, once the verdict is announced, will have to decide how things change.
“This is completely different from the 115 charges. A lot of critics say these rules were set to try and stop the Saudis from overspending at Newcastle.
“Some say it was to stop clubs breaking into the big six.
“There’s a lot of criticism, but let’s see what comes out.”
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