Man City accuse Premier League of 'misleading' clubs

Manchester City person accused the Premier League of being "misleading" implicit the verdict successful its landmark ineligible lawsuit connected rules implicit commercialized deals.

City person written to top-flight clubs criticising the league's summary of the case verdict, saying it contains "several inaccuracies".

The missive to the 19 clubs and the league, seen by the BBC, was sent by City’s wide counsel Simon Cliff connected Monday.

City, who are owned by the Abu Dhabi-backed City Football Group, had immoderate complaints upheld, with 2 aspects of the associated enactment transaction (APT) rules deemed unlawful by a tribunal.

They person claimed their ineligible enactment had "succeeded".

However, the Premier League besides welcomed the tribunal's findings, saying it rejected the bulk of Manchester City's challenges and "endorsed the wide objectives, model and decision-making of the APT system".

APTs are aimed astatine sponsorship deals with companies linked to clubs' owners, ensuring they are of just marketplace value.

City are not commenting connected the letter.

The Premier League has besides declined to comment, but a elder root has told BBC Sport that it rejects immoderate presumption that its summary of the ruling was misleading oregon inaccurate.

A consultation with the clubs is present nether way. They are gathering adjacent Thursday to sermon the fallout, but determination volition beryllium nary ballot astatine that stage.

This lawsuit is not straight related to the Premier League disciplinary commission, which volition perceive 115 charges against City for allegedly breaching its fiscal regulations, immoderate of which day backmost to 2009. City contradict wrongdoing.

In the letter, Cliff offered "clarifications" to "assist subordinate clubs with their understanding" successful effect to a summary of the panel’s ruling by Premier League main enforcement Richard Masters.

"Regrettably, the summary is misleading and contains respective inaccuracies," Cliff claims.

"The tribunal has declared the APT rules to beryllium unlawful. MCFC's presumption is that this means that each of the APT rules are void," the missive states.

"The determination does not incorporate an 'endorsement' of the APT rules, nor does it authorities that the APT rules, arsenic enacted, were 'necessary' successful bid to guarantee the efficacy of the League’s fiscal controls."

The Premier League, successful its summary, said that the tribunal identified "a tiny fig of discrete elements of the rules which did not successful their existent signifier comply with contention and nationalist instrumentality requirements" and that these could "quickly and efficaciously beryllium remedied".

However, the league's presumption that City were unsuccessful successful the bulk of its situation is described by Cliff arsenic "a peculiar mode of looking astatine the decision".

He added: "While it is existent that MCFC did not win with each constituent that it ran successful its ineligible challenge, the nine did not request to beryllium that the APT rules are unlawful for tons of antithetic reasons. It is capable that they are unlawful for 1 reason."

Cliff added that it was "not close that the tribunal’s determination identifies 'certain discrete elements' of the APT rules that request to beryllium amended successful bid to comply with contention and nationalist instrumentality requirements".

He added: "On the contrary: the APT rules... person been recovered to beryllium unlawful, arsenic a substance of contention instrumentality and nationalist law. This means that they are void and not susceptible of enforcement. This has precise important consequences for APTs that person been entered into to day and APTs that are presently being negotiated by clubs.

"Of adjacent greater concern, however, is the PL's proposition that caller APT rules should beryllium passed wrong the adjacent 10 days."

The Premier League is seeking to amend its rules wrong the adjacent fortnight truthful that they comply with contention law.

The tribunal - successful a 175-page papers - ruled that low-interest shareholder loans from owners to their clubs should not beryllium excluded from the scope of APT rules, and that immoderate amendments to toughen up the rules successful February by should not beryllium retained.

However Cliff warns that it is "remarkable that the Premier League is present seeking to impact the subordinate clubs successful a process to amend the APT rules astatine a clip erstwhile it does not adjacent cognize the presumption of those rules".

He added: "We volition beryllium penning separately astir this to the Premier League but successful the meantime, fixed the findings successful the award, this is the clip for cautious reflection and information by each clubs, and not for a knee-jerk reaction.

"Such an unwise people would beryllium apt to pb to further ineligible proceedings with further ineligible costs. It is captious for subordinate clubs to consciousness that they tin person spot successful their regulator."

This missive – and the incendiary connection contained successful it - represents an escalation successful the singular quality betwixt English football's astir ascendant nine and the contention they person won six years retired of the past seven.

It besides shows that this bitter enactment is perchance acold from over. The Premier League has said that it is assured that it tin amend the APT rules successful bid to marque them comply with contention law. But Cliff's informing that immoderate "unwise" effort to marque specified changes without "careful consideration" are "likely to pb to further ineligible proceedings with further ineligible costs" volition not person gone unnoticed by those clubs already acrophobic astir the league's spiralling ineligible bill.

The exclusion of low-interest loans from owners to their clubs - shareholder loans - from the scope of the existent APT rules was deemed unlawful by the panel. The Premier League volition present question to alteration its rules truthful specified loans are included. It is moving connected a premise that specified loans volition lone travel into the scope of APT erstwhile the rules are amended, and volition not beryllium applied retrospectively.

However, City's lawyers judge that it would beryllium unfair to to proceed to taxable erstwhile sponsorship deals to APT rules that person present been recovered to beryllium partially unlawful, portion choosing not to taxable erstwhile shareholder loans to the aforesaid regulations. They whitethorn adjacent question an injunction to forestall the Premier League from trying to doing so.

Cliff's missive volition besides summation speculation that City whitethorn instrumentality further ineligible enactment to assertion compensation for immoderate losses they reason they person suffered arsenic a effect of the rules.