Latest news with #LordDyson
Times
22-04-2025
- Business
- Times
Man City's legal battle with Premier League will drag into next year
The legal battle between Manchester City and the Premier League is likely to continue into next year with a hearing for the latest dispute over sponsorship rules not due to take place until the autumn. Last month City issued a new claim in response to the Premier League's attempt to amend sponsorship rules that were declared unlawful and void by an independent tribunal. The English champions have accused the Premier League of distorting the competition in favour of Arsenal and other rival clubs who have benefited from huge loans from their owners. In the new statement of claim, City complain that Arsenal, as well as Brighton & Hove Albion, Everton and Leicester City, have had an unfair advantage. They say that shareholder loans — where the owners lend clubs money — worth hundreds of millions of pounds at those four clubs have not been treated the same as other Associated Party Transactions (APTs), such as sponsorship deals with companies linked to club owners. According to The Lawyer magazine, that hearing is not due to take place until the autumn and, while both the Premier League and City declined to comment on Tuesday, insiders believe it to be correct. The hearing for City's original legal challenge against APT rules took place last June, with the tribunal issuing its initial ruling in October. However, it was not until February this year that the final ruling was published in what amounted to a crushing defeat for the Premier League. The outcome of the case involving City's 130 alleged breaches of Premier League financial regulations is expected in the coming weeks but the battle over sponsorship rules is now sure to drag on long after that. In February the tribunal — comprising three senior legal figures in Sir Nigel Teare, Lord Dyson and Christopher Vajda KC — concluded those APT rules were 'void and unenforceable', and City now argue that there needs to be a return to the pre-2021 rules until these matters are fully resolved. They argue in their latest claim that the amended rules continue to 'discriminate'. City argue that they 'fail to meet the requirements of transparency, objectivity, precision and proportionality … and are liable to distort competition'. Key to City's claim is the argument that the Premier League's attempt to change the APT rules after its latest legal defeat is unfair because they treat the shareholder loans differently, adding that the clubs who utilise that form of borrowing are benefiting from an unlawful exemption. City, who launched their initial legal challenge last year after two Abu Dhabi-related sponsorship deals were blocked by the Premier League, make the broader point that the league should not change rules that have already been declared void, and was too hasty and slapdash in its response to the previous verdict. Further to that, City have attacked the 50-day grace period given to clubs to convert shareholder loans into equity spending, while also criticising the league for claiming that shareholder loans do not need to be assessed for fair market value in the same way as other APTs.
Telegraph
14-02-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Man City win legal fight with Premier League – and other top-flight clubs could now sue
Manchester City have won a major victory in the latest round of their legal battle with the Premier League after financial rules enforced between 2021 and 2024 were declared void and unenforceable. An independent tribunal ruled in September that elements of the rules regarding Associated Party Transactions (APT) were unlawful, notably around shareholder loans being exempt from financial calculations, prompting City to declare the entire APT system void. That interpretation has now been upheld for the three-year period which followed the takeover of Newcastle United by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund in 2021, a ruling that could leave the Premier League open to further legal action from impacted clubs. However, this ruling does not relate to new APT rules that were voted in late last year, which attempted to address the unlawful elements, and is now subject to a separate legal challenge from City. The outcome of that challenge, expected later this year, is likely to be critical in determining the extent to which clubs like City or Newcastle can strike major sponsorship deals with companies linked to their owners. This latest ruling is also separate to the charges, believed to total 130, which were issued against Manchester City over alleged breaches of financial rules between 2009 and 2018. The APT tribunal, made up of senior judges Sir Nigel Teare, Lord Dyson and Christopher Vajda KC, held a further two-day hearing last month to decide whether the rules were still valid between 2021 and 2024 without those elements being deemed unlawful and have sided with City in concluding that they are void. Their conclusion, which has been seen by Telegraph Sport, says: 'In the first partial final award it was declared that the APT rules and amended APT rules were unlawful in three respects. 'There now arises for decision the question whether those three respects can be severed from the remaining APT rules so that those remaining APT rules are valid and enforceable. 'The three respects in which the APT rules and amended APT rules were unlawful cannot be severed with the result that the APT rules as a whole are void and unenforceable.' At the time of the first partial final award in October, the Premier League took the findings to be an endorsement of the 'overall objectives, framework and decision-making of the APT system', which is designed to prevent clubs from agreeing inflated sponsorship deals with companies associated with their ownership. In an email to clubs on Friday, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said: 'The league has previously told clubs that this decision was about the legal status of previous APT rules and would not impact the operation of new rules.' Masters had also informed clubs last week that the Premier League champions had launched a new arbitration to challenge the updated APT rules that came into force in November. 'On January 20, 2025, Manchester City FC began a further arbitration to challenge the APT rules,' he wrote. 'As you will see, the new challenge relates to the amendments to the APT rules that clubs approved at the 22 November 2024 shareholders' meeting. Manchester City FC seeks a declaration that the amendments approved by clubs in November (and therefore the current APT rules in force) are unlawful and void. 'The Premier League remains strongly of the view that the amendments passed in November were lawful and the APT rules comply with all competition law requirements. We consider that the new arbitration must be resolved as soon as possible and, to that end, have agreed that the same tribunal should be appointed to hear the new case. The parties are currently corresponding in relation to further directions. 'The APT rules remain in full force and effect and clubs remain required to comply with all aspects of the system.'
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Man City win legal fight with Premier League – and other top-flight clubs could now sue
Manchester City have won a victory in the latest round of their legal battle with the Premier League after financial rules enforced between 2021 and 2024 were declared void. An independent tribunal ruled in October that elements of the rules regarding Associated Party Transactions (APT) were unlawful, notably around shareholder loans being exempt from financial calculations, prompting City to declare the entire APT system void. That interpretation has now been upheld for the three-year period which followed the takeover of Newcastle United by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund in 2021, a ruling that could leave the Premier League open to further legal action from impacted clubs. However, this ruling does not relate to new APT rules that were voted in late last year, which attempted to address the unlawful elements, and is now subject to a separate legal challenge from City. The outcome of that challenge, expected later this year, is likely to be critical in determining the extent to which clubs like City or Newcastle can strike major sponsorship deals with companies linked to their owners. This latest ruling is also separate to the charges, believed to total 130, which were issued against Manchester City over alleged breaches of financial rules between 2009 and 2018. The APT tribunal, made up of senior judges Sir Nigel Teare, Lord Dyson and Christopher Vajda KC, held a further two-day hearing last month to decide whether the rules were still valid between 2021 and 2024 without those elements being deemed unlawful and have sided with City in concluding that they are void. Their conclusion, which has been seen by Telegraph Sport, says: 'In the first partial final award it was declared that the APT rules and amended APT rules were unlawful in three respects. 'There now arises for decision the question whether those three respects can be severed from the remaining APT rules so that those remaining APT rules are valid and enforceable. 'The three respects in which the APT rules and amended APT rules were unlawful cannot be severed with the result that the APT rules as a whole are void and unenforceable.' At the time of the first partial final award in October, the Premier League took the findings to be an endorsement of the 'overall objectives, framework and decision-making of the APT system', which is designed to prevent clubs from agreeing inflated sponsorship deals with companies associated with their ownership. In an email to clubs on Friday, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said: 'The league has previously told clubs that this decision was about the legal status of previous APT rules and would not impact the operation of new rules.' Masters had also informed clubs last week that the Premier League champions had launched a new arbitration to challenge the updated APT rules that came into force in November. 'On January 20, 2025, Manchester City FC began a further arbitration to challenge the APT rules,' he wrote. 'As you will see, the new challenge relates to the amendments to the APT rules that clubs approved at the 22 November 2024 shareholders' meeting. Manchester City FC seeks a declaration that the amendments approved by clubs in November (and therefore the current APT rules in force) are unlawful and void. 'The Premier League remains strongly of the view that the amendments passed in November were lawful and the APT rules comply with all competition law requirements. We consider that the new arbitration must be resolved as soon as possible and, to that end, have agreed that the same tribunal should be appointed to hear the new case. The parties are currently corresponding in relation to further directions. 'The APT rules remain in full force and effect and clubs remain required to comply with all aspects of the system.' The Premier League spent £45 million on legal costs last season, a figure that is certain to rise further this season. City have separately been defending themselves against the 130 Premier League charges for alleged breaches of financial rules. An independent commission spent 12 weeks last year hearing evidence in relation to the charges, with a verdict in football's so-called 'trial of the century' expected in the coming weeks. City were previously also embroiled in legal disputes with the European governing body Uefa, eventually appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after being suspended from the Champions League for two years for allegedly 'overstating its sponsorship revenue' between 2012 and 2016. In its ruling, Cas overturned the suspension after finding that a number of the claims brought by Uefa had fallen outside a five-year 'time bar' and others were 'not established'. They did, however, still impose a €10 million fine after ruling that City had failed to co-operate with investigators. City have always denied breaching financial rules – whether those of Uefa or the Premier League – and described the CAS judgement as 'a validation of its position'. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
New York Times
14-02-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Premier League APT rules declared ‘void and unenforceable' in victory for Manchester City
Sponsorship rules in place in the Premier League for nearly three years have been deemed to be 'void and unenforceable' in a blow to the league and a significant win for Manchester City. Both the Premier League and four-time defending champions City claimed victory in October of last year when an independent tribunal ruled that three aspects of the rules — known as Associated Party Transactions (APT) regulations — were 'unlawful'. Advertisement The latest ruling, seen by The Athletic, has declared that those three 'unlawful' respects of the rules 'cannot be severed with the result that the APT Rules as a whole are void and unenforceable.' A tribunal comprised of Sir Nigel Teare, Lord Dyson and Christopher Vajda KC made their conclusion following a two-day hearing at the end of last month which could open the possibility for clubs to claim compensation for deals agreed between December 2021 and November 2024 that may have been undervalued. The Premier League must also foot the legal bill which could run into the tens of millions. City's position was that the 'unlawful' elements entirely voided the APT rules — a position agreed upon by the tribunal — while the Premier League played this down and made amendments to the rules in November. The majority of the clubs — 16 of the 20 — voted through the changes with City as well as Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest in opposition. Last week, City mounted a separate legal challenge against the APT amendments with the same three-person panel set to rule on that outcome too. A Premier League statement on Friday read: '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. Advertisement '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.' GO DEEPER Premier League clubs have changed associated party transaction rules. Here's what it means This case is separate from City's defence of more than 100 charges against them for allegedly breaching financial regulations which they deny. The aim of the APT rules — which were devised in December 2021 following the Saudi-led, Public Investment Fund (PIF) takeover of Newcastle — were for the Premier League to regulate against its clubs using sponsorship deals with companies linked to their owners to inflate revenue streams and allow room for greater spending. The APT rules, though, ensured that Newcastle have had their sponsorship agreements with PIF-linked events company Sela and e-commerce company Noon subjected to the market value tests. City argued the rules were unlawful and against competition law. The league insisted that the rules were fully compatible with the law. GO DEEPER City vs the Premier League - explaining the 115* charges and how long the case will take City's view is that the new rules are discriminatory and face the same legal issues as the previous iteration because, the club believe, the existing shareholder loans are still not scrutinised in the same way as other commercial deals. They feel those loans should have been subjected to fair market value tests at the time and should now be subject to them retrospectively as commercial agreements from 2021 to 2024 are scrutinised. City's belief is that the new rules allow teams to keep that advantage which is, in their view, unlawful and in line with what the independent panel ruled in November. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
