‘CIVIL WAR’

LONDON. – Manchester City are aiming to get the Premiership rulebook ripped up – so they can have NO limits on UAE-based funding.

The Prem champions first threatened legal action against Premiership chiefs in February, after new rules restricting “related party transactions” squeaked through by a bare majority.

The Times reported legal papers were served within days, with City’s army of lawyers now preparing to lock horns with Prem legal experts in a court case set to cost clubs MILLIONS of pounds in shared fees.

Man City’s actions threaten to ignite a Premier League “civil war”.

City are claiming the related party rules – affecting companies linked to a club’s owners – are “unlawful” and will demand damages from the Premiership if they are successful at the anticipated two-week arbitration hearing starting on Monday.

But the Etihad club are also arguing the entire fabric of the Premiership rulebook – where any rule change requires a two thirds majority in favour of a proposal – should be torn up. Documents lodged ahead of the hearing say City believe the rule change – which mandates that all related party deals must pass a “fair market value” test – was specifically designed to “discriminate against Gulf owners”.

That is because the rules were first brought in as a direct response to the Saudi-backed takeover of Newcastle in 2021.

City’s stance is that sponsors linked to club owners should have the right to determine how much they want to pay, irrespective of any independent valuation. Current club sponsors include Etihad Airways, Etisalat and Experience Abu Dhabi. – The Sun.