Manchester City has achieved a memorable victory in their legal battle with the Premier League after the rules of the administrative body on sponsorship were “void and not -unable to” declared, according to The Times.
An independent tribunal ruled in October that the rules concerning the transactions of Associated Party (APT) – maintained between 2021 and 2024 – were illegal in three areas.
The Premier League changed those three laws in November – supported by 16 out of 20 members – but City disputed the validity of the APT as a whole, and the argument of the English champions was maintained.
Breaking: Man City scores great victory as Premier League sponsor rules declared voidhttps: //t.co/Vhyshznkm3
– Matt Lawton (@lawton_times) February 14, 2025
According to the Times, who claim to have seen the verdict of the independent tribunal consisting of three senior legal figures in Sir Nigel Tare, Lord Dyson and Christopher Vajda KC, the final prize was: “In the first partial definitive price it was proclaimed that the APT rules and the amended APT rules were illegal in three respects.
“The question now arises as to whether those three respect from the remaining APT rules can be separated, so that the remaining APT rules are valid and enforceable.
“The three respects in which the APT rules and the amended APT rules were illegal cannot be broken, with the result that the APT rules as a whole are void and not -unable to do so.”
Manchester City and Newcastle could benefit
Rules around APT were introduced to prevent clubs from blowing up the value of sponsor offers with associated parties. The judgment of the tribunal could allow the majority of Abu Dhabi, and Newcastle, in the majority of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia to conclude new agreements.
The Times reports the CEO of the Premier League Richard Masters who wrote to his clubs today and tried to play the meaning of the pronunciation of the Tribunal.
In the letter, Masters would have admitted that the previous rules were void and not fanceable, but emphasized “new rules were voted”.
