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MANCHESTER CITY’S legal brawl with the Prem is set to drag rivals, including Arsenal and Chelsea, into the fight.
In what was hailed a landmark ruling, the England Premier soccer league champs claimed victory as an element of the rules on commercial deals involving companies linked to clubs’ owners was judged “unlawful”.
It related to shareholder loans not being included in the “Associated Party Transaction” calculation.
Arsenal owners the Kroenkes are believed to have ploughed nearly £260million into the club in loans. Chelsea received £146m in the first year of their new ownership model.
Brighton’s Tony Bloom has put £373m into the Seagulls, while Everton, who are subject to a takeover from The Friedkin Group, have the highest shareholder loans at £451m.
That has been loaned at low or even zero interest and will almost certainly now need recalculating.
Former Master of the Rolls — the country’s second most senior lawyer — Lord Dyson and two fellow judges agreed the rule preventing City from responding to the Prem over “Fair Market Value” of two proposed deals was “procedurally unfair”.
But a number of City’s other claims against Prem rules “failed”, including that the League wrongly applied its regulations.
Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, Brentford, West Ham, Fulham, Wolves and Bournemouth gave evidence on behalf of the Prem.
It has all left battle lines drawn even deeper — with the case into City’s alleged 115 financial breaches still being heard.
City launched the case after tighter rules were voted in by Prem clubs at a meeting in February.
The club said yesterday: “The Tribunal found both the original APT rules and the current (amended) APT Rules violate UK competition law and procedural fairness . . . ”
“The Premier League was specifically unfair in how it applied those rules to the Club in practice.
“They deliberately excluded shareholder loans while the Premier League reached decisions in a procedurally unfair manner.”
City’s case centred on two sponsorship proposals, with First Abu Dhabi Bank and Etihad Aviation Group.
But while the Arbitration Tribunal — which heard evidence in June — did side with City on some matters, League bosses claimed THEY had won.
A Prem spokesman said: “Manchester City brought a wholesale challenge to the APT Rules.
“The club was unsuccessful in the majority of its challenge.
“Significantly, the Tribunal determined the APT Rules are necessary.
“It rejected Manchester City’s argument that APT Rules were to discriminate against clubs with ownership from the ‘Gulf region’.
“Except in two respects, it found that Manchester City’s arguments were unfounded.”
But League chiefs believe they need only make minor changes — and new rules will be tabled for club chiefs to vote on as soon as next week.
The spokesman added: “In the meantime, the Premier League will operate the existing APT system, taking into account the findings made by the Tribunal.” (www.thesun.co.uk)
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