Manchester City accuse Premier League of bending their rules for Arsenal: Report

The reigning champions have submitted a claim against the league.

The Premier League has been accused by Manchester City of bending the rules to Arsenal’s advantage.

City attacked the Premier League’s attempt to change sponsorship rules that an independent tribunal had ruled illegal and void in a statement that was turned in to the tribunal at the conclusion of last month.

According to The Times, City claimed that Everton, Leicester City, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Arsenal had unfair advantages.

According to the champions, those four clubs’ shareholder loans totalling hundreds of millions of pounds are not being handled similarly to other Associated Party Transactions. Owners are lending their own funds to the club through shareholder loans.

Nevertheless, the tribunal found these regulations to be “void and unenforceable,” and City now contend that until the issue is settled, the pre-2021 regulations must be reinstated.

The Premier League has forwarded City’s most recent claim to its other 19 clubs, claiming that the modified regulations still “discriminate.” According to City, they “are liable to distort competition and fail to meet the demands for transparency, objectivity, precision, and proportionality.”

According to the argument, the Premier League’s attempt to alter the APT regulations following its court setback is unjust since it treats shareholder loans differently.

City added, clubs that borrow in that way are taking advantage of an illegal exemption. The 50-day grace time granted to clubs to convert shareholder debts into equity shares was also criticized by City.

In the 2022–2023 season, Arsenal received about £259 million in shareholder loans, whilst Brighton received £406.5 million, Everton received £450 million, and Leicester received £265 million.

According to City, the rule amendments “do not eliminate, but on the contrary, perpetuate the discriminatory and distortive treatment previously found by the tribunal” because of the “differential treatment.”

City’s general attorney, Simon Cliff, had asked the Premier League to wait to make any rule modifications until the tribunal had decided whether or not all of the rules were invalid. Meanwhile, according to the Premier League, their changes are “valid and enforceable.”

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