He first division may face a new legal challenge from one of its own clubs after passing new rules that would limit teams' ability to buy players or strike sponsorship deals with parties related to their ownership.
The clubs approved an amendment to the rules governing associated party transactions (APT) at a league meeting on Friday, after being informed of the risk of legal action if they did so. The identity of the club that is considering legal arbitration has not been made public, but it is understood that they are the champions. city of manchester.
A new legal fight would hardly be welcomed by the league, which is disputing High profile cases against Everton, Nottingham Forest and City for a variety of alleged infringements. On the other hand, the competition must also manage the desire of most clubs to end the use of associated matches.
League officials believe the new rules clarify the process by which APTs are evaluated, with clubs expected to demonstrate that, in any deal made with a club or business of the same owner, they have achieved fair market value . Critics say the rules were changed to make it harder to make such deals. The changes were rejected in a vote last November, but those proposals were adjusted before Friday's vote, including removing personal responsibility of the directors involved in the execution of said agreements.
“Following a complete review of the existing rules on transactions between associated parties and fair market value assessment protocols, the clubs agreed to a series of amendments to further improve the efficiency and accuracy of the system,” the league said in a statement. .
Manchester City have been contacted for comment.
The latest Premier League shareholders meeting lasted two days as clubs and officials sought to gain control over a series of issues. Also on the agenda was the continued lack of agreement on financial redistribution to the EFL. The league said it had agreed a new timetable for finalizing a bid to the Football League with its clubs, after the process was halted before Christmas. A group of Premier League clubs also invited several EFL teams to a private meeting to discuss these issues this week.
Among other developments, the Premier League is analyzing the possibility of repeating the preseason summer series tour in the United States in 2025, and the clubs have agreed to sign an “environmental sustainability commitment” that, in the first instance, will seek to calculate the footprint of collective carbon of the league.