Manchester City have been dealt a blow after Premier League clubs voted to approve changes to the league’s Associated Party Transactions (APT).
The defending Premier League champions challenged the Premier League’s APT rules, which decide whether deals between clubs and businesses linked to their owners represent fair market value. An arbitration panel found aspects of the Premier League’s APT rules to be unlawful, leading City to claim they should be “void” until further guidance is provided.
However, despite this, Premier League clubs have voted to update the league’s APT rules. For rules to be approved or amended via a vote, it needs to be backed by 14 of the 20 teams.
After having received backing from Aston Villa in the run-up to the vote, City, who wanted to push the vote back by 90 days, had hoped they would be able to defeat the Premier League. However, it has proven not to be enough.
As many as 16 clubs are believed to have been in favour of the amended APT rules. A Premier League statement read: “The amendments to the rules address the findings of an Arbitration Tribunal following a legal challenge by Manchester City to the APT system earlier this year.
“The Premier League has conducted a detailed consultation with clubs – informed by multiple opinions from expert, independent Leading Counsel – to draft rule changes that address amendments required to the system.
“This relates to integrating the assessment of Shareholder loans, the removal of some of the amendments made to APT rules earlier this year and changes to the process by which relevant information from the League’s ‘databank’ is shared with a club’s advisors.
“The purpose of the APT rules is to ensure clubs are not able to benefit from commercial deals or reductions in costs that are not at Fair Market Value (FMV) by virtue of 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.”
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