Man City reportedly ‘threaten Premier League with legal action’ over new sponsorship rules

Hmmmm.

A Premier League club – believed to be Manchester City – have reportedly threatened the league with legal action over new rules which will clamp down on ‘in-house’ sponsorship deals. Sky News have reported that all 20 top-flight clubs were told on Thursday that one of the sides had informed the league that it could take legal action to stop the new actions from happening. The associated-party transaction (APT) rules have been devised to ensure that there is a level playing field amongst the 20 clubs and stops the biggest sides in English football from signing commercial deals at bigger prices to allow them to spend more on improving their squads. Speculation on Friday claimed that Man City, who are also facing 115 charges of breaching Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, are the club who objected to the rule change. Reports suggested that they told the Premier League that the move would be considered as unlawful and could present another legal battle for the club and league to become embroiled in. Man City, owned by Abu Dhabi sovereign investors, have previously stated that they would be against tighter restrictions. Their ground, named the Etihad after Abu Dhabi’s number one airline, is one of the many commercial deals they have. Several other clubs also have similar sponsor deals. Newcastle are majority-owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and have their shirts sponsored by Sela, a Saudi sports rights enterprise. There’s also been question marks raised about Chelsea’s shirt deal with Infinite Athlete given that they failed to qualify for Europe. Related links:

• Premier League to investigate Manchester City over controversial transfer
• Manchester City will be relegated if found guilty of FFP charges, according to expert
• The punishment Man City will face if found guilty of breaching FFP rules
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