Premier League executives will meet for the first time on Thursday since the hearing began into Manchester City's alleged 130 breaches of league rules, and that will not be the only legal issue affecting clubs at the top-flight shareholder meeting.
The so-called “trial of the century”, which spans nine seasons and accuses City of deliberately withholding information from the competition it has championed for six of the past seven years (City denies all charges), will no doubt worry clubs, although it is not expected to reach a conclusion for months. But it is not the only aspect of league governance currently being examined by lawyers.
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There is some expectation that the results of a second lawsuit could be shared with the clubs at the meeting in central London. Brought by City against the Premier LeagueIt relates to the competition's rules on associated party transactions (APTs) – deals made with companies connected to a club's ownership – which City are understood to have argued are uncompetitive. A two-week arbitration hearing was completed in June and a verdict is now expected, although there is no obligation to make its content public.
If City win the case, it would represent a direct challenge to attempts to increase competitive balance in the division and would be a further blow to the Premier League's credibility as a regulatory body. Earlier this month, another legal case saw Leicester wins appeal The appeal court ruled that the rules were not stringent enough to apply to clubs such as Leicester, which had been relegated and filed accounts after having their top-flight membership revoked.
Many executives will also be keeping an eye on looming rule changes, such as a review of PSR rules that mimic those of UEFA and a system known as top-to-bottom anchoring (TBA) that is currently being trialled with a view to being introduced permanently from next season. City, as well as Manchester United and Aston Villa, are opposed to anchoring rules, which would link spending on players at the top of the division to multiples of the prize money earned by the Premier League’s bottom team. The Guardian understands that potential legal challenges have also been raised in this case, should the rules be approved.
The Premier League is desperate to push through its financial rules in order to secure a new, more comprehensive agreement between its clubs. The fact that there are an increasing number of clubs who are not happy with the rules, but with the cost of defending them in legal fees, may ultimately prove helpful to the organisation's management.
