Manchester City have secured a monumental victory after challenging the Premier League’s Association Party Transaction (APT) rules.
Pep Guardiola’s side made their legal challenge against the Premier League in June this year.
Manchester City’s official website released a statement where it was claimed that “the Premier League were found to have abused its dominant position” and described the APT rules as “unlawful.”
It was also stated in the club’s official statement that the original APT rules “violated UK competition law and violate the requirements of procedural fairness.”
It is important to understand that this legal case is completely different to the 115 financial breaches that Manchester City are alleged to have made by the Premier League.
The rules came into place in 2021, right after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund took charge of Newcastle United.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire told Sky Sports that such rules were introduced as the Premier League feared Newcastle, alongside Manchester City would be able to bring in sponsors from the Middle East that would hand them a “competitive advantage” over the rest of the teams in England.
More details emerge about Man City and their APT case triumph
As per a report by journalist Mike Keegan in the Daily Mail, Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, West Ham United, Brentford, AFC Bournemouth, Wolves and Fulham all voted in favour of the Premier League.
The report states that while the APT rules put commercial deals through a Fair Market Value (FMV) test, it has been found by the panel that the same process does not occur when it comes to shareholder loans that are given at either low or no interest.
As a result, the APT regulations in their original form are considered “unjust.”
It has further been revealed that out of the £4 billion that Premier League clubs have borrowed, a staggering £1.5 billion has emerged from shareholder loans.
The report claimed that the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool — two clubs who were in opposition of Manchester City’s stance owe £259 million and £71 million respectively.
The likes of City, Manchester United, Newcastle, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham and Southampton owe no amount in this respect.
The report states that the Premier League’s case was that the rules in place were not discriminatory towards Manchester City as they applied to all the clubs in the English top-flight — viewing shareholder loans in the exact same way as equity investment.
However, the panel agreed with the Sky Blues’ stance as such an exclusion was considered against the rationale of having Profit and Sustainability Rules in the first place.
It will be interesting to witness how this situation develops.
How Man City fans reacted to APT case victory
Many City supporters took to X to bask in the club’s latest legal triumph.
One fan took to X to write: “Once again, the footballing world is not ready to accept Manchester City winning against the Premier League. I love this club so much.”
Another fan wrote: “We’re actually cooking the Premier League.”
“The Premier League messed with the wrong club. Come for the king and you best not miss.”
“Blues, get outside the stadium to celebrate. Let the world know loud and proud that the club has won it’s case.”
Another said: “We own this league.”
Lastly, a fan said: “Plenty of (to be expected) spin from both ‘sides, re: City’s APT ruling. But the facts are there. This ruling is seismic and is a major embarrassment for the Premier League.”
