How Man City have claimed landmark victory over the Premier League in tussle over sponsorship rules – explained

Said ruling could have huge ramifications for the English top-flight, with City considered to have been unfairly blocked from agreeing lucrative sponsorship deals with club-associated companies. The reigning Premier League champions were prevented by Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules from putting agreements in place with Etihad – their stadium and shirt sponsor – the First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Emirates Palace.

City are now in a position to seek compensation as the Premier League is considered to have abused its position. Other clubs may take a similar stance. The rules in question are considered to have been unlawful as they did not take into consideration interest-free loans that shareholders lend to clubs – with the likes of Arsenal said to have £200 million of equity made up entirely of loans from their ownership team. City were trying to generate funds by other means.

The APT rules were introduced back in December 2021, following the Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle United. They were designed to maintain competitiveness in the Premier League as teams were prevented from inflating commercial deals struck with companies linked to their owners – with transactions independently assessed in order to determine “fair market value”.

Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, West Ham United, Brentford, Bournemouth, Fulham, and Wolverhampton Wanderers all supported the Premier League’s stance, but have seen City prevail in a legal wrangle. The Premier League has also been found to have breached its own rules by taking an “unreasonably long time” to reach decisions relating to the FAB and Emirates Palace deals that City were eager to put in place. City accused those running English football’s top tier of “discrimination” as a “tyranny of the majority” attempted to stifle their on-field success.

While those at the Etihad Stadium have emerged successful on this occasion, they remain locked in a Financial Fair Play (FFP) fight. That case includes between 115 and 130 charges, with speculation regarding points deductions, transfer embargoes or expulsion from the Premier League continuing to rage.