Manchester City claimed a partial victory over the Premier League on Monday after an arbitration panel ruled on sponsorship deals, known as Associated Party Transactions (APT), that the Abu Dhabi-owned club was blocked from completing.

The Premier League put its own spin on what some commentators saw as a landmark verdict, saying the panel’s redacted 175-page document endorsed the overall objectives and decision-making of the APT system.

The panel found parts of the league’s APT rules broke British competition law, however, and were also unlawful because clubs were unable to comment on types of data the league would take into account.

The Premier League’s decision in relation to two City transactions in 2023, with First Abu Dhabi Bank and Etihad Aviation group, were “reached in a procedurally unfair manner” and must be overturned, the panel ruled.

APT rules were designed to maintain the Premier League’s competitiveness by preventing clubs from inflating the value of sponsorship deals with companies linked to their owners.
City said in a statement that they had succeeded with their claim and the Premier League was found, among other things, to have abused its dominant position.

“The Tribunal has determined both that the rules are structurally unfair and that the Premier League was specifically unfair in how it applied those rules to the Club in practice,” City added.

“The rules were found to be discriminatory in how they operate, because they deliberately excluded shareholder loans,” it added.

The Premier League said the majority of City’s challenges had been rejected.

“Moreover, the Tribunal found that the rules are necessary in order for the League’s financial controls to be effective,” it added in a statement.

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