Man City APT latest: Club on ‘collision course’ with Premier League as Richard Masters changes tact

It’s nearly a week since the ruling in Manchester City’s Associated Party Transaction (APT) case has come to light, and the ramifications continue to rumble on.

In a story that dominated last week, City have pointed to the three-man tribunal concluding that certain aspects of the rules were deemed ‘unlawful’ and the decision to prevent two sponsorships was seen as incorrect.

As for the Premier League, they also claimed victory in this complex case, with the executives pointing to the fact that the majority of City’s challenges were thrown out. The league also highlighted that the changes that must now be made to APT laws are minimal.

But there’s been plenty more fallout emerging from this story - below we’ve summarised the biggest reports from the weekend…

Further APT decisions

The Mirror have claimed City remain on a ‘collision course’ after last week’s ruling.

One of the Blues’ biggest gripes with the APT laws was that interest-free shareholder loans were deemed acceptable, but City’s sponsorship agreements with associated parties weren’t. The three-man panel agreed with this verdict, meaning how club owner loans are valued will be a huge factor in the revised APT rules.

The Mirror say new rules surrounding loans will only be factored into future arrangements, but City want any newly-drafted rules to be ‘applied retrospectively’. If not, there is a chance the tribunal from the APT case could be asked to determine whether the Premier League is acting outside the law.

The article also states the Premier League could pay ‘a hefty chunk of City’s legal costs’, while the club could demand compensation for the two sponsorship deals that were blocked under the previous APT laws.

No rush for revised APT rules

Last week, reports had indicated that the Premier League will look to rush in new APT rules which factor in owner loans, but the Daily Mail claim that is no longer the case.

In an email to all 20 clubs sent from chief executive Richard Masters on Friday, he would ‘take the necessary time’ to develop a proposal on the new regulations, although they will ultimately be voted on by the clubs.

An emergency meeting has been called this Thursday, but it seems unlikely that any new APT laws will be agreed during these talks.

Where next for the Premier League?

The Independent published a lengthy breakdown of the widespread fallout from City’s APT case and the worrying splits with the Premier League.

Some view the ongoing legal action as ‘war’ from City, they claim, with the league becoming ‘ungovernable’, according to certain sources. That has been heightened by the email from City’s general counsel Simon Cliff in which he suggested clubs should ‘go straight to them to discuss the consequences of the judgement’.

There is even a frustration among some clubs that City have brought legal action as it ‘goes against the very idea of the Premier League’ and sport in general.

The article adds City do have supporters among the other clubs and the thought that the champions should simply ignore rules they feel are unfair and target them is the wrong outlook.