Manchester City are suing the Premier League in a legal case that has never been seen before in English football.
The league champions have launched a case against the Premier League over their Associated Party Transaction (ATP) rules.
The ATP rules were actually introduced in last 2021 following the Saudi Arabian-led takeover of Newcastle United.
The regulations were instigated to prevent clubs from overly benefitting from commercial deals from companies that are linked to the club’s ownership.
City fighting rules they feel are ‘restrictive and anti-competitive’
Whilst introduced to prevent Newcastle from signing massive sponsorship deals with Saudi companies, City – owned by United Arab Emirates royalty in the shape of Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan – have also been impacted given their ongoing commercial deals with a number of UAE corporations including Etihad Airways, who sponsor their stadium.
Now City have decided to sue as they feel the rules are “restrictive and anti-competitive”.
A two-week private arbitration will start on Monday – as confirmed by The Times. City are looking for the ATP rules to be scrapped, which would also allow them to sue the league for damages.
Every Premier League club is aware of the impending action as City are also pointing to the fact that the league’s majority brought through the rules to as a clear sign of “discrimination against Gulf ownership” due to the fact they were brought as a reaction to Newcastle’s takeover.
The other clubs are able to put forward evidence or statements backing City or the Premier League.
This lawsuit should not be confused with City’s other legal battle with the Premier League as they are charged with 115 breaches of the league’s regulations and Financial Fair Play rules (FFP).
City have always strenuously denied the allegations that were first alleged in 2018 and sources state they are ‘confident’ that they will not be facing any punishments – such as that have been seen in the Premier League this season with the likes of Everton and Nottingham Forest both being hit with points penalties.
What to expect from Man City’s lawsuit
We spoke to leading sports lawyer and partner at Leathes Prior, Dan Chapman about City’s impending action and what it could mean for football.
He explained: “It is very difficult to properly assess the true nature of this particular dispute between Man City and the Premier League as these are arbitration proceedings, which are held in private and are confidential.
“Whilst clearly there has been a leak to the media of some aspects of these proceedings, we do need to measure any commentary with a note of caution that we do not yet fully appreciate what the proceedings are contending.
“That said, it is not surprising to hear that Man City would wish to contest the APT rules as they now are, but one would suspect that even if such a challenge is successful, it ought not to alter the position in relation to most of the disciplinary charges which relate to the period prior to the APT rules being introduced.
“Whether a win in these proceedings would give Man City some tactical litigation advantage, or moral high ground, that boosts their defence to the disciplinary charges is another matter – it certainly would not harm them.”
The post Exclusive: Man City's Premier League lawsuit explained, what to expect next appeared first on HITC.
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