This Monday, Manchester City and the Premier League announced that a “agreement” was found, ending the dispute concerning sponsorship rules.
Solved litigation. The Premier League, organizer of the England championship, and Manchester City announced on Monday that they had reached a «accord» putting an end to their dispute on the sponsorship rules imposed on English clubs.
The club of northwest of England, bought in 2008 by an investment fund of the United Arab Emirates, had led a legal battle to try to drop the rules on «Associated Party Transactions» (Apt), which he considered illegal and discriminatory. This supervises the commercial partnership agreements with companies related to club owners. The objective is to ensure that contracts represent the fair market value.
Pass advertising
The rise of Manchester City was permitted by the massive financial support of Etihad Airways, airline based in Abu Dhabi, whose name is displayed on the jersey in addition to being attached to the stadium. An arbitration procedure had been launched but the decision, rendered in October 2024, gave rise to very different interpretations.
The Premier League has not finished with City
The English club estimated that all APT rules were declared void and not avenues. Conversely, the league assured that they had been deemed necessary and legitimate, and that only some of them were to be amended or deleted. The Premier League amended its settlement the following month, with the approval of a majority of clubs. Manchester City then attacked this new version, which gave rise to a second arbitration procedure.
Both parties “Have reached an agreement” as part of this arbitration and “Have agreed to end the procedure. This agreement puts an end to the dispute between the parties concerning the rules of the APT ”they announced on Monday in a joint statement. “As part of this agreement, Manchester City recognizes that the current APT rules are valid and restrictive”is it specified.
In a separate file, the Premier League accuses Manchester City of having knowingly bypassed the financial rules imposed between 2009 and 2018 to boost its sporting ambitions, which the club denies. The two parties defended their positions at the end of 2024 before an independent commission. The decision of “Sports trial of the century”as the British press nicknamed it, was expected in 2025.
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