The Premier League are playing a ‘dangerous’ game because losing a second hearing against Manchester City would be ‘beyond embarrassing’.
That is the view of Stefan Borson, who previously served as a financial adviser to the champions, after the sponsorship rules introduced following Newcastle United’s takeover were declared ‘void and unenforceable’ by a tribunal last week. The same panel will decide whether the league’s current associated party transactions (APT) rules are, in fact, lawful after the regulations were amended in November. Clearly, the stakes are high.
“We now have the situation where the Premier League are doubling down with their announcement that they made on Friday,” Borson told talkSPORT. “They’re doubling down in saying that the November, 2024 amendments are effectively a rewrite. And they’re doubling down on taking it to another APT hearing. Unless they can get around the table, that is a danger for the Premier League because they may well lose that second hearing.”
The Premier League had previously claimed the tribunal had only identified ‘a small number of discrete elements of the rules’ which did not comply with competition and public law requirements. The top-flight even suggested these elements could be ‘quickly and effectively remedied by the league and clubs’.
Although Masters has subsequently acknowledged the tribunal’s verdict, in an email sent to Newcastle and member clubs on Friday, the top-flight’s chief executive stressed it ‘would not impact the operation of the new rules’. The Premier League are now ‘pressing for an expeditious resolution of this matter’ in a case that could have huge consequences for Newcastle if it goes Manchester City’s way,
“Can we find a set of rules that are perceived as being fair?” Borson questioned. “They’re not going to please all the people, but please enough of the people around the table so we don’t have arbitration about rules and whole sections of rules, and potential holes in the rules that allow cases that might come up where people might get some shocks about unintended consequences? That is a big challenge for the Premier League right now.
“They need to do this outside of a tribunal where they have no control. If they keep it going like this, they may well lose this second APT hearing. It will be beyond embarrassing for them and they will need to make changes to the rules again, and they can’t really afford another defeat.”
Aston Villa, who joined Newcastle, Manchester City and Nottingham Forest in voting against the amendments, wrote to clubs ahead of November’s shareholders’ meeting to state it was ‘abundantly clear’ that any vote passed would lead to ‘immediate further litigation’ by the champions. Manchester City’s legal counsel, Simon Cliff, had previously called for ‘careful reflection and consideration’, ahead of the tribunal’s final verdict being released, but the changes were voted through by 16 clubs after what the Premier League termed a ‘detailed consultation’.
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