Premier League vote on APT rules at stake amid tensions with Manchester City | first division

Premier League clubs and officials were scrambling for support on Thursday ahead of a totemic vote on the competition's regulations.

At a shareholders meeting in central London on Friday, clubs will be asked to approve modest changes to the rules surrounding associated party transactions (APTs), where clubs generate income from sources related to your property. If the rules are approved, the competition is unlikely to be materially affected, but there will be ramifications for the simmering conflict between the league and its serial champion. city ​​of manchester will be substantial.

City have stated their opposition to the rule changes, having previously taken the league to arbitration over their APT rules. They have lobbied clubs hard to support them, including two letters sent to the entire league by their legal director, Simon Cliff, which questioned the validity of the league's plans. The league has spent weeks negotiating with clubs over its concerns, citing independent legal analysis by KC Daniel Jowell to support its case.

The outcome of the vote is understood to be at stake and its importance extends far beyond any direct consequences. If City convinces enough clubs to join them in this vote, the league's ability to act as an effective regulator will be in doubt, just as the hearing into City's alleged 130 rule violations is coming to a close. critical point.

Friday's vote will require a two-thirds majority to go ahead, which, instead of abstentions, means 14 clubs will vote in favour. With City opposed to the changes and Aston Villa asking this week to delay any amendments, it would take five more clubs to reject the measures.

An earlier vote on APT measures, which deal with player loans between shared ownership clubs, was rejected a year ago. City were joined by Newcastle, Chelsea, Sheffield United, Burnley, Nottingham Forest, Everton and Wolves in voting against. The Blades and Burnley were subsequently relegated, and The Guardian understands that Wolves are likely to vote in favor of the new rules this time.

The proposed changes respond to criticisms raised by an arbitration tribunal last month. The court found that rules allowing owners to provide interest-free loans to clubs should have been treated as APT agreements, and clubs were found to have been denied timely access to a database of previous agreements when attempting reach APT agreements. Criticism was also leveled at the timeliness of the league's adjudications on such deals.

City have argued that the court's criticism has undermined the league's entire APT apparatus. The league says the court was an endorsement of its broader rules and that, given the proposed changes, they remain sound. Many clubs have grown tired of the internal conflict and its associated legal costs.