This week, Manchester City and the Premier League settled their dispute over the latter’s Associated Party Transaction (APT) Rules, representing a welcome end to months of legal wrangling.
Nevertheless, the vast legal sums spent and the undisclosed nature of the final settlement leave many questions unanswered. These are, namely: transparency, accountability, and the increasing role of financial might in deciding sporting outcomes off the pitch.
Last October, a Tribunal was convinced by Manchester City, represented by Freshfields, that the APT Rules were anti-competitive and had wrongfully deprived City of valuable sponsorship revenue. Being a key component of the Profit and Sustainability (PSR) Rules, this was seen as a significant blow to the League. Indeed, a February judgement declaring all the APT rules void, was catastrophic for the League’s authority.
Consequently, this latest development represents some consolation for the League. Nevertheless, the opaque nature of a covert, undisclosed settlement raises a multitude of questions. We still do not know whether or not the laws actually reign in the spending of weightier financial clubs.
A further complexity is the eye-watering cost of the case. The Times reported that £50 million in legal fees had been spent on the case — the equivalent to one Noni Madueke. Indeed, the ability of the Premier League to rely on top-tier advice, from Slaughter and May, likely contributed to this less damning result.
However, against a club with less financial clout than City this could have led to an uneven playing field — ironically what the anti-competitive legislation was initially implemented to mitigate against. The recent example of Crystal Palace missing out on a place in the Europa League due to a post-season court case highlights the dangers of litigating results after the event.
Despite this settlement, City’s legal disputes with the Premier League are far from over. The result of the investigation into City’s alleged 115 breaches of the League’s financial regulations is due imminently.
“Manchester city etihad stadium (cropped)” by Arne Müseler is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.