Man City accuse Premier League of ‘misleading’ claims after legal case

AFP | London                                                  

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Email: hussainm@newsobahrain.com

Manchester City have accused the Premier League of a “misleading” response following a legal case concerning rules governing commercial deals.

City wrote to the other 19 Premier League clubs and the league late Monday to challenge the league’s interpretation of the outcome, saying their position was that all the associated party transaction (APT) rules were now void.

The Premier League champions launched a legal challenge to the regulations earlier this year on the grounds that they breached competition law.

The APT rules are designed to ensure commercial deals with entities linked to a club’s owners reflect fair market value and are not artificially inflated. The Premier League champions and the Premier League both claimed victory on Monday after the publication of a decision of an arbitration panel.

The English top flight said in its summary that City were “unsuccessful in the majority of (their) chal-lenge” and that the tribunal considering the case had determined the APT rules were necessary and pursued a legitimate objective.

But City, in their own statement, said the tribunal had declared the APT rules “unlawful” and that the league had abused a dominant position under competition law.

The club’s general counsel, Simon Cliff, in his letter to the other clubs, said: “Regrettably, the (Premier League) summary is misleading and contains several inaccuracies”.

“Of even greater concern, however, is the Premier League’s suggestion that new APT rules should be passed within the next 10 days,” he said in an email, according to Britain’s PA news agency and the BBC.