Manchester City have been battling the big allegations thrown at them by the Premier League. The enormous 115 charges thrown at them have been the major allegations in the spotlight. So far City has claimed innocent in all those charges. With the hearing of the 115 charges slated to be around November, it seemed that City may not elude a punishment.
Additionally, the Premier League had delivered heavy judgments on other teams who had similar charges. With teams like Everton, and Nottingham Forest experiencing point deductions as a result. However, Manchester City have taken a different approach that might give them an edge. Especially concerning the 115 charges slammed on them.
City has chosen to take legal action against the Premier League on valuations of sponsorship. Also under regulations brought in 2021. Wherein all deals with companies related to clubs’ owners must be separately checked to be of ‘fair market value’
Manchester launches a legal action against the Premier League
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It has been reported that the City is planning on ending the Premier League’s Associated Party Transaction (ATP) rules. These rules are aimed at commercial and sponsorship deals. This is with companies possessed or associated with the same club’s owners. Those rules controlling this transaction have to be solely and separately examined to be of fair market value.
It was also reported that Manchester City is of strong belief that the rules are “unlawful”. They desire to uncover damages for revenue lost by preventions caused by those rules. Within the report, it was stated that there are 1165 pages of legal documents. In it, Man City debated that they are the victims of “discrimination”.This rule was introduced in December 2021 as Newcastle was purchased by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund.
This legal war is expected to be sorted during a two-week arbitration. The hearing will start on Monday, June 10.
What are the Associated Party Transaction Rules
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The Premier League’s rules demand that any club, manager, or its players run dealings with associated parties past them.
Associated parties are organizations or individuals who possess a strong level of interest in the relevant club. This can be financially or vice versa. Premier League’s board, afterward will now assess each transaction, to know if it believes they stand for a fair market value.
The Premier League expressed that the rule aids in creating “fairness” through the division. This is by putting a stop to the dependence on enhanced commercial revenues associated with the club’s ownership.
Influence in the Manchester City 115 charges
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Manchester City initially was first slammed with charges in February 2023. These charges were the breaking of financial fair play rules 100 times within nine years. It began in 2009 and went all the way till 2018.
The Premier League accused them of not fully uncovering the financial remunerations. This that were given to one of their managers within four years. The postulations were that there was some secretive contract ongoing. A manager was probably earning more than what was officially revealed.
Manchester City was also accused of not following the UEFA’s financial fair play rules for 5 years. They also alleged Manchester City for not cooperating with the Premier League’s investigation.
It confirmed that the hearing into the City’s alleged 115 breaches will be heard in November.
A News Reporter for Sky Sports Kaveh Solhekol quoted concerning the legal actions “The charges and this case are two separate things.
“The 115 charges have been brought by the Premier League against Man City for allegations that they have broken the league’s financial rules over 12 or 13 years.
“The hearing into those charges is set for November but obviously, a lot of those charges are also to do with sponsorship deals, deals that were done with companies that are connected to the owners of Manchester City.
“So, if Man City win this case, which starts next week, that would blow a big hole in the Premier League’s case at the hearing in November about the 115 charges because Man City would have argued successfully next week that some of these rules are unlawful and incompatible with UK competition law.”
More to come
Manchester City will be hoping that they get something positive out of their legal actions. This is to get a shot at having the advantage at the 115 charges hearing coming up in November.
A positive outcome could guarantee the possible absolving of all the consequences of the charges. A negative could be heavily detrimental.
About the Author
Ifeoluwa King is a lover of football and also a sports enthusiast. He’s been a fan of football for 20 years. Pick any topic in the world of football and sports, and you’ll find him there. For more information about him and more of his awesome content, you can visit his Twitter handle at @kng7.
