Man United's key involvement in Man City Premier League case as stance revealed

Manchester United were one of eight clubs to support the Premier League in a case against rivals Manchester City over Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules.

City successfully argued that the rules, which prevent the inflation of commercial deals done with clubs’ partner companies, were unlawful. It was adjudged by a panel of three retired judges that the rules did not take into account interest-free loans that shareholders are able to lend to clubs.

The ruling could have a major impact on clubs in regards to Profitability and Sustainability Rules. Clubs such as City and Newcastle may now be able to strike bigger deals with partner companies such as Etihad Airways, or in Newcastle’s case, partner companies in Saudi Arabia.

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The ruling could also potentially see the rules regarding shareholders' loans changed, which would impact several Premier League clubs. In the summary of the findings, more details of the case has emerged.

One section outlines the three categories of evidence that the Premier League relied on. One of those was the evidence given by Premier League clubs, including United.

The other clubs to seemingly support the Premier League in the case were Arsenal, Liverpool, West Ham, Brentford, Bournemouth, Fulham and Wolves.

The evidence was said to be that the Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSRs) relied on a self-declaration over associated party transactions, and there is no practical way to determine a Related Party Transaction (RPT) if they fail to do so. The APT rules would therefore negate this problem.

The ruling against the rules now means that City, and any other Premier League club can potentially seek damages from the Premier League. The clubs can claim for damages or loss of earnings due to the rules implementation.

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