Manchester City has taken legal action against the Premier League, claiming that the league’s new sponsorship rules still unfairly target the club.
The issue began when the Premier League introduced the Associated Party Transaction (APT) regulations to stop clubs from making overvalued sponsorship deals with companies linked to their owners. City had already won a legal case against these rules last year, with a tribunal deciding the rules broke competition laws.
However, despite the ruling, the Premier League chose to amend the rules instead of removing them. In a vote last November, 16 clubs supported the changes while only 4, including City, voted against them.
Now, City argues that the updated rules remain biased and continue to give an unfair advantage to clubs such as Arsenal. According to the Daily Mail, City’s legal team says the rules treat “shareholder loans” more favourably than commercial sponsorships.
Under the updated APT regulations, clubs that used shareholder loans were given a chance to turn those loans into shares before a deadline in January. However, commercial deals with associated parties still face a strict 30-day approval period and must pass a Fair Market Value (FMV) test.
Manchester City believes this creates a double standard. They argue that the new rules are unclear, unfair, and continue to harm competition between Premier League clubs.
In their legal filing, City said: “This continued preferential and discriminatory treatment of shareholder loans distorts fair competition between clubs.” They also claim the new changes are legally invalid because the original rules were void.
If City wins this case, it could force the Premier League to change its approach. It would also put more pressure on Premier League chief executive Richard Masters, who is already facing criticism over how the league is being managed.
