BREAKING: Man City launch legal actions against Premier League over ‘discrimination’. Date set for unprecendented

The legal action that Manchester City has initiated against the Premier League is “unprecedented.”

Regarding’success-stifling’ regulations endorsed by their competitors, Manchester City has allegedly accused the Premier League of ‘discrimination against Gulf ownership’.

According to The Times, the Premier League champions are advocating for the elimination of the Associated Party Transaction (APT) regulations.

City asserts that the regulations, implemented subsequent to the Saudi-led acquisition of Newcastle United, are illegitimate and were sanctioned by competing clubs with the intention of impeding their progress.

One could argue that the purpose of the regulations is to prevent clubs from exaggerating commercial agreements with firms that have connections to their proprietors.

On the contrary, the approval of sponsorships is contingent upon their ‘fair market value’ (FMV), which must be assessed independently.

In light of this, the club based in Manchester will petition the Premier League for damages during a hearing scheduled for the following week.

Furthermore, should their assertion prove valid—as some clubs dread, according to the report—the Blues would be able to increase the sum of money they can generate through commercial deals.

Subsequently, the club will have increased financial flexibility to invest heavily in players, a period when clubs in other leagues are grappling with the constraints of profit and sustainability regulations.

As many as twelve of the remaining 19 clubs in the division have reportedly accepted invitations to participate in the legal action.

Due to their hasty implementation subsequent to Newcastle’s 2021 acquisition, the FMV rules imply that they are intended to discriminate against clubs with ties to the Gulf region. Despite this, the city remains committed to eliminating them.

Additionally, City has argued that they have been unable to commercialize their brand to the same extent as their rivals Manchester United.

This occurs in the midst of a separate dispute between the Premier League and City concerning the 115 alleged financial rule violations that occurred between 2009 and 2023.

However, if City can demonstrate that the regulations surrounding FMV are, in fact, illegal, the club’s position at the 115 hearing later this year could be strengthened, according to reports. City vigorously refutes any culpability with regard to the allegations brought against them.