Premier League sees off Man City-led APT rules challenge but divisions remain

Manchester City’s efforts to block changes to Premier League sponsorship rules failed on Friday. Credit: PA

The Premier League has headed off a potentially very damaging challenge, led by Manchester City, as clubs voted to approve its amendments to the League’s rules on Associated Party Transactions (APTs).Had it lost it would very much have looked like it was the reigning champions steering the ship not the League itself. Nevertheless, the fact that the vote was not unanimous has highlighted divisions within the league.The showdown was over the extent to which APTs limit the amount of cash companies closely associated with clubs can hand over. The rules are in place to prevent owners with almost limitless resources from pumping so much cash into their clubs, that others struggle to compete.

City triggered a tribunal over the League’s APTs limitations and experienced partial success when the panel decided some of the rules were unlawful.They had initiated the arbitration in the first place after the Premier League rejected a sponsorship deal they’d made for not being of fair market value. In other words they deemed it an artificially inflated figure.The Premier League wanted a quick resolution to the tribunal’s findings and had tabled amendments to the APT rules.

City triggered a tribunal over the League’s APTs limitations. Credit: PA

City had support from Aston Villa in wanting to delay today’s vote until the full tribunal interpretation was published, but they failed to get the further five votes required to have won the day.

In a statement the League said: "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."

Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning.

It went on: "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."

Manchester City intimated if they did not get their way, more legal challenges would follow, so the saga that is testing the unity of the Premier League is far from over.

Have you heard The Trapped? Listen as Daniel Hewitt exposes the UK's dirty secret