Joy and happiness were the main feelings at the Emirates yesterday, but they soon turned into anger. Manchester City had every right to be happy, as they won the very important battle with the Premier League concerning the associated party transaction (APT), but when the league released their own statement later in the day and tried to give their explanation of the panel’s decision, the executives thought that this was ‘misleading’. So, they wasted no time, so today, they sent an email to all other league clubs explaining the decision.City and Premier League claim wins in an ongoing trialDaily Mail had a preview into the email, general counsel Simon Cliff was very direct and once again criticized the league.“Regrettably the league’s summary is misleading and contains several inaccuracies. Of even greater concern is the Premier League’s suggestion that new APT rules should be passed within the next 10 days. When the Premier League consulted on and proposed the original APT Rules in late 2021, we pointed out that the process which took several weeks was rushed, ill-thought-out and would result in rules that were anti-competitive. The recent Award has validated those concerns entirely”.The eight teams that provided evidence AGAINST Manchester City have been revealed 👀 pic.twitter.com/xw0NBK6SAj— Mail Sport (@MailSport) October 8, 2024 The part of the league’s statement which prompted City to write an email was the one in which the Premier League claimed that the tribunal had, on the whole, backed their Associated Party Transaction (APT) Rules but had ‘identified a small number of discrete elements…which do not, in current form, comply with competition and public law requirements’. This decision, which is separate from the 115 accusations brought on by the league, for which City can still be heavily punished, is important because Manchester was denied the sponsorship deals twice according to Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules and can now sue the Premier League and claim huge reimbursements. It also means that Newcastle United, because of whom these rules were brought in in the first place, will now be able to spend much more money and break into the so-called ‘Top 5’ clubs, which nobody wanted. Another potentially worrying part of this decision is that City argued that the loan payments from owners to their own clubs were given without any commercial interest (or without any interest at all), which gave those clubs an unfair advantage. So, in retrospect, clubs like Arsenal and Brighton might find themselves in a position of breaching the Profit and Sustainability Rules, just like Everton and Nottingham Forest.Pep aims dig at the Premier League and FIFAThe APT rules are designed to ensure commercial deals with entities linked to a club’s owners reflect fair market value and are not artificially inflated. The Premier League declined to comment on Manchester City’s act but stands by its summary and rejects any assertion that it was either inaccurate or misleading.##NAJAVA_MECA_8398841##
