Man City and Premier League settle dispute over Associated Party Transaction rules

Man City and Premier League settle dispute over Associated Party Transaction rules

Manchester City and the Premier League have settled a dispute relating to the league’s Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules; legal action was separate to the one covering more than 100 charges against City for alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules; City deny the charges

Manchester City and the Premier League have reached a settlement in their dispute over the rules governing Associated Party Transactions (APTs).

This legal action is separate to the one covering more than 100 charges against City for alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules. The club deny the charges.

It remains unknown when a judgement on that case will be announced.

City had launched arbitration proceedings on January 20 against the current APT rules, which are designed to ensure that deals between clubs and entities linked to their ownership are done at fair market value.

It was set to go to trial in October, but the settlement agreement means this will not be necessary.

City’s challenge was understood to have included criticism of the way the Premier League treated shareholder loans under the rules. The league and City have agreed to make no further comment on the matter.

In a statement Man City said: “The Premier League and Manchester City FC have reached a settlement in relation to the arbitration commenced by the club earlier this year concerning the Premier League’s Associated Party Transaction (APT) Rules and as a result the parties have agreed to terminate the proceedings.

“This settlement brings an end to the dispute between the parties regarding the APT Rules. As part of the settlement, Manchester City accepts that the current APT Rules are valid and binding.

“It has been agreed that neither the Premier League nor the club will be making any further comment about the matter.”

The Premier League also released a statement, confirming the settlement.

“The Premier League and Manchester City FC have reached a settlement in relation to the arbitration commenced by the club earlier this year concerning the Premier League’s Associated Party Transaction (APT) Rules, and as a result the parties have agreed to terminate the proceedings.

“This settlement brings an end to the dispute between the parties regarding the APT Rules. As part of the settlement, Manchester City accepts that the current APT Rules are valid and binding.

“It has been agreed that neither the Premier League nor the club will be making any further comment about the matter.”

What about the 115 charges?

City and the Premier League still await the outcome of an independent commission hearing which was examining more than 100 charges against the club for alleged breaches of the league’s financial rules – charges City strenuously deny.

The hearing took place between September and December last year, after City were charged by the Premier League in February 2023.

A date for the release of that judgement has not yet been made public.

Explained: Why Man City challenged the Premier League’s rules

“This is very significant because the Premier League and Manchester City were at loggerheads over this whole issue. Manchester City had challenged the rules legally, we hadn’t seen this before.

“It all started back in 2023. Manchester City wanted to do a new sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways and First Abu Dhabi Bank. They submitted these proposed deals to the Premier League to make sure that they complied with the APT rules and the deals were blocked by the league.

“City challenged the legality of these rules, they didn’t accept that these deals should be blocked. And last September, an independent panel found that some key elements of the APT rules were unlawful. It was back-page news that it had been proven that some of the Premier League’s own rules were unlawful.

“What the Premier League did is say, ‘This doesn’t mean that all the rules are unlawful, just some key elements of them and we will amend those rules quickly to make sure that they are lawful’.

“But Manchester City basically said, ‘No that is not good enough, let’s wait until we get the full reasons from the tribunal’. We got those full reasons in February this year and the tribunal declared that the 2021 to 2024 APT rules were void and unenforceable.

“This was, on the face of it, a big victory for Manchester City and the club launched a new legal action against the amended APT rules. Then, fast forward to today, and it’s been announced that a settlement has been agreed and under the settlement City accept that the rules as they are, are valid and binding.”