When UEFA threatened to Manchester City, the sheikhs from the UAE hired the best lawyers in Europe, threatened with a lawsuit, and the European house of football backed down. Now, the Citizens are facing threats from the Premier League, and it seems their response will be very similar. According to exclusive information from The Times, the Citizens will initiate legal proceedings against the English league’s administration. This is part of their defense against the Premier League’s 115 charges alleging that City violated transfer regulations.🚨🚨| NEW: More than half of the Premier League clubs have sided with the Premier League against Manchester City ahead of an arbitration hearing next week which is centred around the APT rules which prevent clubs inflating commercial deals with companies linked to their owners.… pic.twitter.com/65xN8UXGgB— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) June 5, 2024 City’s response will be vigorous: the Citizens will attempt to overturn the entire rulebook! Not the transfer regulations, but the so-called ATP (Associated Party Transaction) rule. This rule is supposed to ensure a fair competition among Premier League clubs by determining how much money owners can inject into teams through sponsorship deals with their own or affiliated companies. Or, in the case of Manchester City, the entire United Arab Emirates. City will attempt to prove that these regulations are illegal and will even seek compensation for the financial damage suffered. The Times cites a 165-page indictment in which City claims to be “a victim of discrimination.” The hearing is already scheduled for June 10 and will last two weeks. The ATP rule was adopted in December 2021 when the Saudi Arabia’s PIF fund (essentially the state itself) purchased Newcastle.Trial against Manchester City will begin in a yearAccording to UEFA’s regulations, clubs are only allowed to spend a portion of what they actually earn on transfers and wages. Then, a new owner appears with state sponsors from the Middle East who pay astronomical sponsorship deals, which everyone knows are inflated. But in doing so, they meet all UEFA’s requirements. Therefore, the Premier League started evaluating each sponsorship deal itself. If something is worth a million, you can’t charge 100 million for it. Now, City believes this isn’t fair. If they are willing to pay 100,000,000, then that’s what it’s worth and nobody should interviene. The problem is that they can afford to pay amounts that no other club in the world can match. If the sheikhs from City, Newcastle, or elsewhere were allowed to spend as much as they want, all other clubs would be in big trouble.La Liga chief complains to European Commission over Manchester City and Newcastle?Who is legally right here? The court will have to decide, but City’s tactic is clear: respond to every lawsuit with a counter-lawsuit. City can afford to hire 100 of the most expensive lawyers, making it very difficult to defend against them. To recap, the Premier League sued City in February 2023 for violating 115 transfer rules from 2009 to 2018. Among other things, they hid how much they paid one of their coaches (reporting only part of the contract and paying the rest ‘under the table‘), concealed accurate information from Premier League inspections, and violated UEFA’s transfer regulations. The hearing for this lawsuit is scheduled for November. But what if City wins against the Premier League first? The entire narrative will change. And what will happen to football as a result is something no one can predict.##NAJAVA_MECA_8143852##
