- Manchester City have launched ‘unprecedented legal action’ against the league
- The champions are contesting the league’s Associated Party Transaction rules
- Click here to follow Mail Sport’s Euro 2024 WhatsApp Channel for all the latest breaking news and updates from Germany
Manchester City have launched ‘unprecedented legal action’ against the Premier League’ in a dispute that is shaking up top-flight English football.
City are still awaiting an outcome for 115 charges for allegedly breaching financial rules – that are strongly denied by the club – with a hearing now set for November.
However while they await the hearing, which is expected to last six weeks, the Premier League champions have reportedly taken legal against the division.
According to The Times, City will look to end the league’s Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules, which they claim are unlawful.
The rules – introduced in December 2021 – are designed to maintain competitiveness by preventing top-flight clubs from inflating commercial deals with companies linked to their owners.
Manchester City have launched ‘unprecedented legal action’ against the Premier League’
City look to end the Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules, which they claim are unlawful
City have already been investigated for their dealings from 2019 to 2023, where they were forced to pay an £8.6m fine for the findings
However, inside a 165-page legal document, City claim that the rules have been approved by rivals to stifle their success on the pitch as a ‘tyranny of the majority’.
If the league champions are successful in their hearing, it could allow the league’s richest clubs to value sponsorship deals without independent assessment.
As well as having a major impact on the league itself, City’s appeal could have a huge affect on their impending hearing over their alleged financial charges.
City are still awaiting an outcome for the 115 charges, which include a failure to provide accurate financial information between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, a failure to provide accurate details of player and manager payments during the same period, and alleged breaches of Premier League and UEFA financial rules.
A total of 35 relate to a failure to co-operate with Premier League investigations into the matter between December 2018 and February 2023.
Sponsorship deals linked with their owner’s companies have become central to the accusations filed against the Manchester giants.
The first alleged breach and the breach which City face the most charges from claims that from every season from 2009-10 to 2017-18, the Manchester side failed to follow the rules that states that member clubs must provide accurate financial information to the league.
This allows the FFP a ‘true and fair’ view of a club’s revenue which includes sponsorship deals and their operating cost, which involve player salaries.
Every club in the Premier League signs up to a code of compliance, which essentially translates to clubs agreeing to behave themselves and provide the league with accurate and up-to-date accounts that are expected to be audited each year.
Over the past few year’s City have been accused of inflating the value of their sponsorships which are connected to their owners.
More to follow…