Sports barrister Yasin Patel discusses changes to the Premier League’s APT rules, on talkSPORT and in The Athletic

Sports barrister Yasin Patel discusses changes to the Premier League’s associated party transaction (APT) rules, which have been approved by a majority of the league’s clubs, in an interview with talkSPORT’s ‘Inside Gooners’ podcast and in The Athletic.

“The decision by Premier League Clubs to amend sponsorship rules today is a significant blow to Manchester City in their aim to change the Associated Party Transaction (APT) Rules.

“City had invested time and energy in lobbying all of the Premier League clubs to back them in challenging the validity of the proposed rule changes by the Premier League. They argued these were unlawful.

“However, by accepting the Premier League proposals, the clubs (16 of them) seem to have voted for the continuation of the APT Rules in their changed format.

“In no-way will this be the end of the matter: instead, it highlights a number of factors: not all of the Premier League clubs are unified in one way or another in relation to the rules. Nor will this be the end of the storm. City have threatened further legal action prior to today’s judgment. This is now almost inevitable. City have argued that the APT Rules discriminate against clubs like themselves. They have always argued that not subjecting previous shareholder loans to a fair market value assessment would be unfair, particularly as this is applied to previous sponsorship deals.

“The case between the Premier League where 115 charges are being fought, continues in the background. But this saga has several other plots and expect City to add a further one with new litigation.”

Yasin’s interview with talkSPORT and his comments in The Athletic were published on 22 November 2024.