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Man City go into ‘Premier League civil war’ by taking unprecedented legal action

Man City go into ‘Premier League civil war’ by taking unprecedented legal action with a hearing due to start on the 10th of June this summer.

According to The Times, Man City are describing Premier League financial rules as ‘tyranny of the majority’ and are attempting to remove the league’s Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules.

The club are claiming they are unlawful and will now seek damages from the Premier League, in a dramatic new twist to the situation that faces them.

Sky Sports’ Kaveh Solhekol spoke more on this: “Well, I think, first of all, we should say that this is a very good, exclusive story by Matt Lawton in the Times.

“And what he’s been reporting this afternoon is really unprecedented.

“We’ve got a situation where a Premier League club, Manchester City, the champions of the Premier League, are basically suing the Premier League.

“And what Manchester City are going to argue at this arbitration hearing, which will start on Monday, is that some of the Premier League’s financial rules are unlawful and they are incompatible with uk competition law.

“And the rules they’re talking about are the associated party transaction rules.

“Now, these were bought in 2021, and they’re designed to make sure that if a club signs a commercial deal with a company that is linked to its owners, that deal has to be of fair value, and that is checked to make sure that it’s of fair value.:

The regulations were first put in place back in 2021 after Newcastle’s acquisition by a Saudi-led consortium, with the aim to maintain competitiveness in the Premier League by prohibiting clubs from inflating sponsorship agreements with businesses associated with their owners.

These transactions must undergo independent evaluation to ensure they align with fair market value (FMV).

But now in a 165-page legal document, Manchester City are putting their case forward, saying they have been the victims of “discrimination” under league rules approved by a “tyranny of the majority” that their rival big clubs have voted for which are designed to hinder their success.

If Man City are successful in their claim, it could allow the wealthiest clubs to assess the value of their sponsorship deals without an independent assessment.

This could significantly increase the funds they can generate, allowing them to invest more in players.

Some rival clubs are reportedly already concerned about Man City being successful in their claim.

The outcome could also have significant implications for the 115 financial violations alleged against the club, with Abu Dhabi companies associated with City at the centre of the accusations.

An arbitration hearing lasting two weeks is set to commence on Monday.

The other 19 clubs in the Premier League have been asked to join the legal proceedings, with up to 12 agreeing to participate.

These clubs will submit witness statements or letters providing evidence to support the Premier League’s defence.

The tribunal may call upon clubs that have submitted witness statements to testify during the hearing.

The Times’ Matt Lawton, who first put out the story, said to talkSPORT: “Manchester City have indeed launched unprecedented action against the Premier League.

“They are trying to have rules around associated party transactions which are the sponsorship deals which are linked to the owner.

“They’re arguing that they are unlawful, they’re also suing the Premier League for damages if it proves to be the case that they are unlawful.

“We’re revealing the fact the arbitration hearing starts on Monday, we didn’t know that before. And the fact that a number of clubs, I think between ten and 12 clubs, have gone into bat for the Premier League.

“What we have here is absolute civil war between the Premier League clubs and there is very provocative language in the claim by Manchester City. They talk about these financial rules that were brought in in December 2021 as being a ‘tyranny of the majority’.

“They also claim discrimination against Middle East clubs.”

Here’s what fans are saying as Man City go into ‘Premier League civil war’ by taking unprecedented legal action…

@thebottomcorna: With that lawsuit, City are basically just saying they are guilty but the premier League should have allowed them to cheat anyway. They should be thrown out of the league. They knew the laws beforehand.

@JKD_LFC: This is now making a mockery of the PL. EFC, NFFC and soon LCFC all having points docked, but City will start civil war in order to break the rules and get away with it. If they don’t like majority rule, then maybe the majority should vote them out of the PL and strip them of their trophies until they comply?

@saraxafc: Breaking the rules, getting charged with a 115 breaches and then claiming the rules are unfair. Sounds about right.

@TempletonPeckJr: Just kick them out for life. They’ve ruined 15 years of English football by cheating at a state level.

@blackiearfc: Smacks of classic deflection due to guilt imo

@Pistol1874:
‘Are we guilty of breaking the rules in excess of one hundred times here?’
‘Aye’.
‘What’ll we do, can we defend ourselves?’
‘Naw’.
‘Right, we’ll have to Trump it and attack the rules’.

@Shamrock_Gael: Just like the UEFA did with their case against City, Premier League waited too long to take the clear & obvious action required & given City the opportunity to find loopholes etc… in their case against them & the PL are now on the back foot. Football is dead due to oil money!

@Leedsman77: This meaning that City is guilty as charged.

@TheFheasant: There laughing at you @premierleague. Need to put them in their place!

@MufcWonItAll2: Don’t give in to these bent bastards, take it all the way @premierleague

@naphtrax:
Step 1: Buy Premier League club
Step 2: Agree to Premier League financial laws
Step 3: Break said Premier League laws
Step 4: Sue Premier League for creating laws you agreed to and then broke
Works every time 👍🏽

@glazerscashcow: They are an embarrassment. The Premier League is finished if they don’t deal with them. They need to kick them out of the league, simple. A corrupt football club that don’t understand the meaning of the word no because their owners were born into incredible wealth.

@Jayc_Kop: They are just the worst aren’t they, a cancer to the game, it very much sounds like this is my ball and I am going home with it, if they win this the game is gone.

@DarrenArsenal1: Shows you why Masters was at the Emirates last game of the season

@F1Jamez: Send them to the National League and let’s get our league back once and for all

@MerelyDarren: I’ll say this, if City are successful, the @premierleague will not be recognised as a sporting entity anymore. It will be purely State controlled by one club! City signed up to the rules, but don’t want to be held accountable by them.

@UtdFaithfuls: Everton and Forest with fewer charges all got points docked, but Man City with 115 charges are starting a civil war because of how extremely corrupt they are. Stand your ground, make a statement and protect our league, or bend over in shame @PremierLeague 👍

@GeezyPeas: Sad thing is that it’s not even Man City, who at heart are a great club, with a rich history & some great fans who’ve been right through it. It’s the ‘City group’ as an organisation & we all know they were & are being used as a shell for sportswashers & it could’ve been anyone.

@SawkurGod: It’s a new low for City, who have made a habit out of serving us all stark reminders that if we had any self-respect, we wouldn’t wake up every day and give an abundance of our time and energy to a sport that is so shamelessly corrupt and inherently broken.

@GiuliaBould: City’s 115 charges has dragged on for years, now this. I hope most football fans have sympathy for those who’ve been hit with points deductions, or are about to be, for breaching outdated rules (by that I mean financial figures never altered for inflation) but still cooperated.

@el_mansfield: “We’ve done absolutely nothing wrong, which is why we habitually failed to cooperate with an investigation that would clear our name and are now pulling out all the stops to ensure the world doesn’t learn about all the things we definitely DIDN’T do”

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