Premier League release strongly-worded statement after Man City 'win' bombshell legal battle against them

The Premier League have released an official statement after Manchester City claimed a legal victory over the top flight's previous Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules.

City launched legal action against the Premier League in June last year, claiming they had been a victim of 'discrimination' over the regulations.

The APT rules stated that commercial deals involving clubs had to be assessed to ensure that they were of 'fair market value'.

In October, an independent arbitration panel found that elements of the existing rules were 'unlawful', with the Daily Mail reporting that City won seven of their key arguments - but 'many' of their claims were rejected. They were only required to show that the rules were unlawful for one of their arguments.

Manchester City have launched legal action against the Premier League (Image: Getty)

The Premier League confirmed that they would propose necessary amendments to the rules in due course, which were voted through 16-4 by top flight clubs in November.

City voted against, however, and launched fresh legal action over the new amendments in January.

An independent tribunal ruling on Friday, which focused only on City's legal challenge against the now previous APT rules, found that the original rules were 'unlawful', as well as being 'void and unenforceable'.

The rules were in place between December 2021 and November 2024, when they were altered following the clubs' vote. The verdict does not apply to the amended regulations.

It has been claimed by the Daily Mail that clubs could consider launching compensation claims against the Premier League if they can prove that 'their competitive performance was harmed by a decision made under the previous APT system'.

Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour pictured (Image: Getty)

Now, the Premier League have released their own statement on the matter.

Premier League release official statement on APT rules

"This decision expressly does not impact the valid operation of the new rules," the statement begins.

"The tribunal has made no findings as to the validity and effectiveness of the rules. It states that whether its decision has any benefit to the club, therefore, depends on whether the new APT rules are found to be lawful as part of the second challenge issued by the club last month.

"The League continues to believe that the new APT rules are valid and enforceable and is pressing for an expeditious resolution of this matter.

"The new APT rules are in full force and clubs remain required to comply with all aspects of the system, including to submit shareholder loans to the Premier League for fair market value assessment."