Manchester City gets advantage over Premier League in legal tussle

The Daily Mail have claimed that Manchester City have secured a legal victory over the Premier League.

This concerns the rule on associated party transactions(APT) that the Premier League champions challenged under UK competition law.

The rule has been put in place to prevent club revenues from being manipulated when a commercial deal between a club or a player is connected with the club’s ownership.

Premier League’s stance is that where such is not in existence, it will help clubs cheat on the financial rules, paving the way for clubs like Manchester City and Newcastle to spend arbitrarily.

APT would allow for deals to be done fairly without compromising the books but the Premier League may now have to do away with the rule based on the latest developments.

There was supposed to be a vote on APT by clubs on Thursday, but that plan has now been cancelled, suggesting that Manchester City have successfully challenged the rule’s validity.

The Citizens’ legal team headed by Lord Pannick KC have reportedly convinced an independent panel that the rule needs changing.

This case is not unconnected to Premier League’s legal battle with Manchester City over 115 breaches of the financial rules though it remains to be seen how much this development will have on the case.