Keith Wyness suggests the real reason for Man City’s war with Premier League
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness has claimed Man City have launched legal action against the Premier League to distract from their 115 outstanding financial charges.
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 – claimed the action is part of a “two-pronged legal attack” which could “ruin the Premier League” as we know it.
According to The Times (4 June), Man City have launched unprecedented legal action against the English top flight to end Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules – which the club claims are unlawful.
The move comes with City still facing a hearing over 115 alleged breaches of financial rules starting in 2009.
APT rules attempt to prevent clubs from inflating commercial deals through companies linked with ownership groups – and it is claimed the Emirati-owned Premier League champions feel they are “discriminatory” against Gulf states.
Man City legal action is smokescreen in 115 charges row, says Wyness
Wyness warned City could “spend as much as they want to” if their legal action is successful, disadvantaging other top-flight sides.
He told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “I think this is all about distracting away from the 115 charges.
“It’s a two-pronged legal attack designed to attack the rules just as much as attacking the charges which they face.
“What I think it would mean, if City were to win, is that they could spend as much as they want to.
“There’s no doubt that other clubs would be disadvantaged in that case.
“One of the points they make is that they believe the rules are discriminatory against the Gulf states. I presume they’re trying to bring Newcastle and Saudi Arabia into the picture.
“I don’t see any discrimination against those countries. It’s a question of whether City are going to play by the rules – or are they going to try and buy their way through.
“It’s not in the spirit of the Premier League and it would eventually ruin the Premier League.”
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