Man City & Premier League statement 'imminent' amid Newcastle United PIF complaints
A decision on Manchester City's legal challenge against the Premier League’s associate-party transaction (APT) rules is expected to arrive this week.
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’.
It was a move that Amanda Staveley, who brokered the PIF takeover before taking a 10 per-cent stake in the the Magpies before leaving in the summer, admits p----d her off. She said: “I was shocked that we could buy a club, pay a full price and then rules just change. 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.
“You've got to remember that nobody likes competition. The Champions League places are tight, there's only four. Other clubs do everything they can to make sure those places are available to as few people as possible. Because of the wealth of PIF, obviously there was a lot of push-back from other clubs. I think there was a fear that we'd have an unfair advantage.”
In a legal case that is separate to the hearing into Man City's 115 alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules, the Etihad outfit have 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 and the outcome is expected in the coming days, as per multiple reports. It has been suggested by The Times that City are ‘some form of victory’ after believing the hearing went well for them.
The final verdict could have huge consequences for Newcastle 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’.