A historic verdict has resulted in Manchester City achieving a huge victory in their war with the Premier League, the newspaper reports Mike Keegan from Mail Sport.

A panel of retired judges ruled that regulations aimed at preventing clubs from making deals linked to their owners breach the Competition Act.

It is a ruling that will send shockwaves through the top brass in England, as the Associated Party Transaction (APT) scheme was deemed ‘illegal’.

The current champions – who still face 115 charges for breaching the Premier League’s financial rules – had taken the league to court earlier this year.

They claimed the APT, introduced after the Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle United and amended in February, was unfair.

But what exactly is the rule for associated party transactions? Mail Sport has the breakdown here.

Man City has won the legal battle against Premier League sponsorship rules

The Premier League champions took legal action in February against these sanctions, which they deemed a form of ‘discrimination’

What is the Transactions with Associated Parties scheme?

The Transactions with Associated Parties scheme was introduced at the end of 2021 and updated at the beginning of 2024.

Under this arrangement, it required any club, its players, manager or any ‘senior official’ to refrain from dealings with ‘associated parties’.

The Premier League board would then review every transaction reported to them.

The goal here was to ensure that all deals between the associated parties represent fair market value.

For the sake of clarity, ‘affiliated party’ means: companies or persons that have a (financial) significant interest in the club in question.

The league said the rule was intended to help build “fairness” across the division by ending “the dependence on increased commercial revenues associated with club ownership.”

What was the ruling in favor of Manchester City?

The panel ruled that the Premier League had been wrong, under ATP rules, to reject an extensive new sponsorship deal that Manchester City had signed with Etihad in late 2023.

City’s previous 10-year deal with the Abu Dhabi-based airline plays a major role in the separate case over the 115 charges.

Stopping a new deal with an Abu Dhabi-based bank was also deemed procedurally unfair.

A panel of retired judges ruled that the Premier League was wrong to reject Manchester City’s deal with Etihad at the end of 2023

City’s expensively assembled legal team led by Lord Pannick, the QC who led City’s defense against the 115, launched a series of claims against the APT rules, many of which focused on the element that deals had to represent what the league considered Fair Market Value (FMV) considered. ).

They claimed that rules were intended to end their empire and were the result of a ‘tyranny of the majority’.

What 115 charges are Manchester City facing?

This gives the FFP a ‘true and fair’ picture of a club’s income, including sponsorship deals and their operating costs, including player salaries.

Every club in the Premier League signs a code of compliance, which essentially translates into clubs agreeing to conduct themselves and provide the league with accurate and up-to-date reports that are expected to be audited every year.

In recent years City have been accused of inflating the value of their sponsorship, which is linked to their owners.

They also face 14 charges for failing to provide accurate financial reports for player and manager compensation for those seasons.

The Manchester team also faces 35 charges of failing to comply with Premier League investigations from December 2018 to the present.

All 115 of City’s charges were first reported by German newspaper Der Spiegel.