Man City enter new legal battle with Premier League over 'unlawful' sponsorship rules - but only three other teams are backing English champions

According to The Times, City's solicitors have reached out to Premier League representatives in order to request an additional arbitration hearing under the Associated Party Transaction rules (APT). Commercial agreements between clubs and businesses connected to their owners are governed by the rules, which stipulate that they must be of "fair market value." The contentious regulations are designed to stop the wealthier teams from inflating such deals and increasing their player expenditures to keep the Premier League competitive.

As per the report, the treatment of shareholder loans given to clubs by owners or directors under the new APT regulations is thought to be the main concern of the club. In a letter written to recap the results of the initial arbitration session, City accused the Premier League of "misleading" clubs with "inaccuracies". Some of the rules were found to be illegal by an independent arbitration panel, and City threatened to take legal action again if the Premier League "rushed" to propose changes before the panel had had a chance to consider its conclusions.

Prior to the November rule change vote, Aston Villa owner Nassef Sawiris declared that he will vote against the proposed amendments together with City. His attempts to convince other teams to do the same, however, were unsuccessful; only Villa, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest joined City in voting against the Premier League plan, while 16 of the 20 clubs supported it. City have claimed that no vote should be held, alleging that the APT rules were invalid owing to the tribunal judgement.

The announcement of the new legal battle comes as the two sides are still at odds over a preliminary challenge to regulations that limit the amount of money that can be made from sponsorship from businesses that have ties to a club's ownership. In addition, City await a decision on 115 allegations against them for alleged violations of Premier League regulations, which is anticipated in the spring. The Premier League champions have denied any wrongdoing.