Man City issue bombshell Premier League statement as Newcastle United & PIF watch on after complaints

APT rules were introduced in the wake of Newcastle United’s £305million takeover by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia almost three years ago.

Premier League clubs were initially placed under a temporary ban from agreeing commercial deals with companies linked to their owners before the ban was lifted and replaced by a process that sees every related-party deal independently assessed to represent ‘fair market value’.

In the legal case that is separate to the hearing into Man City's 115 alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules, the Etihad outfit argued APT rules are unlawful and are being used to stifle their success, and are therefore seeking “damages for the losses.

A two-week arbitration hearing was heard in private in June in front of an independent panel - and Man City have claimed a victory.

“Following today’s publication of the Rule X Arbitral Tribunal Award, Manchester City Football Club thanks the distinguished members of the Arbitral Tribunal for their work and considerations and welcomes their findings,” a statement read.

“The Club has succeeded with its claim: the Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules have been found to be unlawful and the Premier League’s decisions on two specific MCFC sponsorship transactions have been set aside.

“The Tribunal found that both the original APT rules and the current, (amended) APT Rules violate UK competition law and violate the requirements of procedural fairness. The Premier League was found to have abused its dominant position.

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“The Tribunal has determined both that the rules are structurally unfair and that the Premier League was specifically unfair in how it applied those rules to the Club in practice.

“The rules were found to be discriminatory in how they operate, because they deliberately excluded shareholder loans.

“As well as these general findings on legality, the Tribunal has set aside specific decisions of the Premier League to restate the fair market value of two transactions entered into by the Club.

“The tribunal held that the Premier League had reached the decisions in a procedurally unfair manner.

“The Tribunal also ruled that there was an unreasonable delay in the Premier League’s fair market value assessment of two of the Club’s sponsorship transactions, and so the Premier League breached its own rules.”

The verdict could have huge consequences for Newcastle United as they look to bolster their revenue streams and close the gap on the so-called big six. Commercial deals with Sela - the club’s front of shirt sponsor worth a reported £25m per-season - and Noon - the sleeve sponsor - needed to be signed off by the Premier League as ‘fair market value’.

Former co-owner Amanda Staveley, who brokered the PIF takeover, admitted the rule changes p----d her off.

“I was shocked that we could buy a club, pay a full price and then rules just change,” Staveley said previously. “I think that's what p----d me off, because we had so little revenue anyway, that if you're just going to ban everything... We were 20th, we had nothing. I was angry then, yes.”