Manchester City have struck a substantial blow in their battle against the Premier League, after a tribunal ruled that the entirety of the original rules related to associated party transactions (APTs) were “void and unenforceable”.
The result creates even greater uncertainty over the functioning of the Premier League’s rulebook, after it postponed the introduction of squad cost control rules on Thursday.
The ruling follows a previous verdict by the tribunal which found three discrete aspects of APT rules which ran between December 2021 and November 2024 to be unlawful. City and the league asked for further deliberations regarding the effect these aspects would have on the rules more broadly.
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That answer has now been given, with the tribunal saying: “The three respects in which the APT rules and amended APT rules were unlawful cannot be severed with the result that the APT rules as a whole are void and unenforceable.”
The ruling could open the door for clubs who had APT deals rejected under the original rules to seek compensation from the league.
The league has authorised a new set of APT rules in the interim and those rules are not directly affected by the judgment. The league believes it has dealt with the concerns raised by the tribunal in its redrafting, but City have challenged the new rules too and the same tribunal is to adjudicate on their suitability in the coming weeks.
If the new rules are also adjudged to be unenforceable it will almost certainly occasion a crisis of confidence in the league’s ability to function, at the same time as the verdict on the 130 disciplinary charges brought against City is anticipated, and plans for an independent regulator for the game come close to completion in parliament.
In a statement on Friday the league asserted the validity of the new rules. “The league continues to believe that the new APT rules are valid and enforceable and is pressing for an expeditious resolution of this matter,” it said. “The new APT rules are in full force and clubs remain required to comply with all aspects of the system, including to submit shareholder loans to the Premier League for fair market value assessment.”
City were approached for comment.
