Manchester City have had three witnesses in their legal battle with the Premier League. (Image: Getty.)
The three witnesses who ruled in favor of Manchester City in their legal case with the Premier League have been revealed, as several of their fellow teams adhered to rules on commercial deals between clubs and related companies.
Aspects of the league's associated party transaction (APT) rules have been ruled illegal by a court after City saw two major sponsorship deals blocked due to the regulatory change put in place following the Newcastle takeover by the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
This case is not directly linked to the Premier League disciplinary hearing, which will hear 115 charges against City for alleged breaches of its financial regulations.
But after the reigning champions reportedly saw a major renewal deal with UAE airline Etihad blocked, in addition to another deal with a bank in Abu Dhabi, some of City's complaints were upheld. The ruling is believed to have significant ramifications for the division, which has attracted the attention of clubs as their voices were heard in court.
During the arbitration process, Chelsea, Newcastle and Everton all acted as witnesses for City. Premier League witnesses included Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Brighton and West Ham.
The league said it would seek to amend the two points on which the court ruled against it, incorporating the court's assessment of shareholder loans, while clubs with high borrowing levels are now more likely to fall under the scope of financial fair play. rules.
Manchester City have won six of the last seven Premier League titles. (Image: Getty)
A statement released by the Premier League champions said: “The Premier League welcomes the findings of the tribunal, which endorsed the overall objectives, framework and decision-making of the APT system. The tribunal confirmed the need for the APT system as a whole and rejected the majority of Manchester City's challenges. Additionally, the court found that the rules were necessary for the league's financial controls to be effective.
“The decision represents an important and detailed assessment of the PTA rules, which ensure that clubs cannot benefit from commercial agreements or cost reductions that are not at fair market value (FMV) under relationships with associated parties These rules were introduced to provide a robust mechanism to safeguard the financial stability, integrity and competitive balance of the league.
“The court has, however, identified a small number of distinct elements of the rules which do not, in their current form, comply with the requirements of public and competition law. These elements can be corrected quickly and effectively by the league and the clubs .”
City issued their own statement, similarly claiming victory, focusing on the two areas won, with the club claiming “the Premier League had abused its dominant position”.
Their statement read: “The club was successful: the rules on associated party transactions (APT) were found to be unlawful and the Premier League's decisions on two specific MCFC sponsorship deals were overturned.
“The court found that the original APT Rules and the current (amended) APT Rules breached UK competition law and breached the requirements of procedural fairness. The Premier League was found to have abused its dominant position.
“The court determined both that the rules were structurally unfair and that the Premier League was particularly unfair in the way it applied these rules to the club in practice. The rules were found to be discriminatory in their operation, as they deliberately excluded shareholder loans.
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1958566/Man-City-Premier-League-legal-battle-witnesses