Premier League facing ’embarrassing’ situation after Man City legal twist – Borson
Manchester City claimed a significant victory in their associated party transactions (APT) case against the Premier League earlier this month.
The independent panel overseeing the legal battle declared the APT rules null and void from the period between 2021 and 2024 on 14 February.
The Premier League formed the rules to prevent clubs from profiting from commercial deals with companies linked to their owners that are deemed above fair market value.
Top-flight clubs voted through amendments to the rules in November last year despite opposition from Man City, Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.
The new regulations remain in place, but they will have to be approved independently following a fresh legal challenge by the English champions.
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider it would be “embarrassing” for the Premier League and its CEO Richard Masters if they have to accept the new rules are unlawful.
The governing body said the panel’s ruling does not impact the operation of the current APT rules, which it believes are still valid and enforceable.
Premier League could land new blow after Man City legal challenge
Borson insisted the most sensible approach from the Premier League is to start discussing a set of rules all 20 clubs will vote for.
He told Football Insider: “From what we know, City are saying that the exclusion of historic shareholder loans, i.e. making all of the new APT rules forward looking and distinguishing that from historic sponsorship and other commercial arrangements, that’s unlawful.
“City are therefore saying the new rules are also unlawful and need to be rewritten, such that you have to cross out all of what’s known as transitional provisions within the rules.
“That would leave the rules looking a lot like 2021’s rules plus shareholder loan provisions, but we don’t know whether they’ll win.
“I think the problem that the Premier League have got is there is a risk. The risk is the key point because they just don’t know when they go into that tribunal whether they’re going to succeed.
“It seems to me that Richard Masters and his governance team can’t really risk another loss. It would just be so embarrassing if they had to accept that the rules that they put in place in November when City warned them not to were also unlawful.
“I still think that the most sensible thing to do for Richard Masters and the Premier League is for them to start discussing with the teams a set of rules that they will all vote for, and that will terminate any further disputes in respect of the associated party rules.
“I think that they’ve now got from the first tribunal a fairly clear set of parameters by which a set of APT rules can be created, and this is where City didn’t succeed in the APT case.
“The APT hearing did not say that you can’t have any APT rules ever. It pretty much said the opposite, so the Premier League is right that they did have some successes in that original hearing.
“What the Premier League now needs to do is double down, not on trying to force through their own rules, but double down on the fact that they got a statement that the APT regime can be lawful, so they just need to find a form that is not going to be subject to a tribunal.
“If it goes to a tribunal, they could lose. Right now, nobody knows which way that second tribunal is going to go.”
| Club | Sponsor | Value (£m, per year) |
| Man City | Etihad | 67.5 |
| Man United | Snapdragon | 60 |
| Liverpool | Standard Chartered | 50 |
| Arsenal | Emirates | 50 |
| Tottenham | AIA | 40 |
| Newcastle | Sela | 25 |
Man City and Newcastle in line for significant compensation
Man City and Newcastle could land significant compensation following the panel’s latest verdict in the APT battle.
The Manchester giants brought the legal action against the Premier League after being prevented from striking lucrative new deals with Etihad Airways and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Meanwhile, Newcastle struck a sponsorship deal with Sela and Noon, but they could have banked a much higher fee without the now-void APT rules in place.
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