14-02-2025
Premier League issues statement after losing Man City legal battle - and Liverpool is impacted
The Premier League has issued a statement after an independent tribunal determined that its previous Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules, which were in place between December 2021 and November 2024, were unlawful.
The ruling in the legal battle between the Premier League and Manchester City, which is unrelated to the much-covered 115-charges case, opens the door for top-flight clubs to pursue compensation claims against the league.
The Premier League introduced the APT rules off the back of the Saudi Arabia-led Public Investment Fund takeover of Newcastle United in a bid to prevent top-flight clubs from benefitting from inflated sponsorship deals with companies linked to their owners.
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The APT rules were amended in November 2024, and the current set of rules are not affected by the verdict of the independent tribunal, but any clubs that saw deals rejected or reduced in value under the system when the original rules were in place could now pursue the Premier League for compensation.
A Premier League statement said: "An Arbitration Tribunal has determined the effects of its first award published last year relating to Manchester City's legal challenge of the Premier League's previous Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules.
"The Tribunal's decision has found that the three narrow aspects of the old APT rules, previously found to be unlawful, cannot be separated from the rest of the previous rules as a matter of law. The result, the Tribunal has determined, is that the previous APT Rules, as a whole, are unenforceable.
"However, the previous APT rules are no longer in place, as Clubs voted new APT rules into force in November 2024. This decision expressly does not impact the valid operation of the new rules.
"The Tribunal has made no findings as to the validity and effectiveness of the new rules. The Tribunal states that whether its decision has any benefit to the club, therefore, depends on whether the new APT rules are found to be lawful as part of the second challenge issued by the club last month. The League continues to believe that the new APT Rules are valid and enforceable and is pressing for an expeditious resolution of this matter.
"The new APT rules are in full force and clubs remain required to comply with all aspects of the system, including to submit shareholder loans to the Premier League for Fair Market Value assessment."
