Aston Villa watch as Man City win legal battle with Premier League after rules deemed unlawful

Two sponsorship deals were blocked unlawfully by the Premier League according to an arbitration panel, as Manchester City celebrate a legal win that will cause concern to rival clubs

Manchester City have won a legal battle against the Premier League, with an arbitration panel ruling that some of the competition's sponsorship rules are unlawful. The verdict, delivered by three retired judges, stated that new regulations aimed at preventing clubs from inflating deals with companies linked to their owners violate the Competition Act.

This specifically referred to two deals rejected by the Premier League involving the current champions. The decision, separate from the case of City's 115 charges for alleged breaches of the league's financial rules, is likely to cause significant worry among many rival clubs.

The tribunal's decision was detailed in a 175-page report shared with clubs on Monday, stating that the Premier League's Associated Party Transaction Rules are "in breach of sections 2 and 18 of the Competition Act 1998 because they exclude from their scope shareholder loans."

The panel ruled that the Premier League was incorrect to reject a new deal with City's main sponsor Etihad and the First Abu Dhabi bank. The verdict labelled the Etihad decision as "procedurally unfair" and ruled that the rules do not account for interest-free loans which shareholders lend to clubs.

Several rivals, including Manchester United, provided evidence supporting the league regarding regulations that were introduced when Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund took ownership of Newcastle United in 2021, reports the Mirror.

"Manchester City Football Club thanks the distinguished members of the Arbitral Tribunal for their work and considerations and welcomes their findings," City said in a statement. "The club has succeeded with its claim: the Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules have been found to be unlawful and the Premier League's decisions on two specific MCFC sponsorship transactions have been set aside."

"The Tribunal found that both the original APT rules and the current (amended) APT Rules violate UK competition law and violate the requirements of procedural fairness. The Premier League was found to have abused its dominant position."

The APT system must now be changed to meet competition law.

However the Premier League say that "the Tribunal upheld the need for the APT system as a whole and rejected the majority of Manchester City's challenges."

In a statement recognising the tribunal decision, the Premier League added: "Moreover, the tribunal found that the Rules are necessary in order for the League's financial controls to be effective. "

What do you make of the situation? Have your say here

The latest Villa headlines sent straight to your phone

Join our Aston Villa WhatsApp group and get the latest breaking news, interviews and opinion sent straight to your phone, plus matchday team news and live updates of all the action. Just click on this link and select ‘Join Community’ to get started. The only proviso is that you must have WhatsApp on your phone to participate. It's a free service. No one will be able to see your personal information and you will only receive messages from our Villa writers.

We will not spam your WhatsApp feed with constant messages, but you will receive updates from us daily with the latest Villa news. If you later decide to opt out, just go to the name at the top of your screen and click 'Exit Group'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. Click here to read our Privacy Notice