Manchester City have thrown the kitchen sink at their dispute with the Premier League. In February 2023, the competition charged its champions with 115 alleged breaches of financial regulations.
These include accusations that the club failed to provide accurate financial information and failed to cooperate with investigations spanning nine seasons (2009/10 to 2017/18). Manchester City strongly deny any wrongdoing, while the case is currently being heard – in private – at the International Dispute Resolution Centre in London.
With the club determined to prove their innocence in front of an independent panel, they've launched another attack on the competition. According to The Times, Manchester City have accused the Premier League of 'misleading' clubs with 'inaccuracies' in its verdict on the legal dispute over rules governing commercial deals between clubs and related companies.
The report states that the club's general counsel sent a letter to the other 19 clubs in the English top flight, detailing their objections to a summary of the case that was signed by the Premier League's chief executive, Richard Masters. As quoted by The Times, Simon Cliff claimed the statement was 'misleading and contained several inaccuracies'.
Manchester City general counsel said: "When the PL consulted on and proposed the original APT Rules in late 2021, we pointed out that the process (which took several weeks) was rushed, ill-thought-out and would result in rules that were anti-competitive. The recent award (conclusion of the panel) has validated those concerns entirely.
"The tribunal has declared the APT rules to be unlawful. MCFC’s [Manchester City’s] position is that this means all of the APT rules are void, and have been since 2021. In recent correspondence, the PL agreed with MCFC that this is an issue which will need to be resolved by the tribunal.
"It is therefore remarkable that the PL is now seeking to involve the member clubs in a process to amend the APT rules at a time when it does not even know the status of those rules."
Sending the Premier League a warning, Cliff added: "We will be writing separately about this to the PL but in the meantime, given the findings in the award, this is the time for careful reflection and consideration by all clubs, and not for a knee-jerk reaction.
"Such an unwise course would be likely to lead to further legal proceedings with further legal costs. It is critical for member clubs to feel that they can have trust in their regulator."
The Manchester City general counsel concluded the letter, writing: "While it is true that MCFC did not succeed with every point that it ran in its legal challenge, the club did not need to prove that the APT rules are unlawful for lots of different reasons.
"It is enough that they are unlawful for one reason. In the event, the tribunal found the APT rules are unlawful for three different sets of reasons. The APT rules are discriminatory because they exclude shareholder loans. If any member clubs have any questions about the award, we would be very happy to assist them as best we can."