Man City accuse Premier League of ‘misleading’ clubs over tribunal verdict

In the letter, Cliff offered “clarifications” to “assist member clubs with their understanding” in response to a summary of the panel’s ruling by Premier League chief executive Richard Masters.

“Regrettably, the summary is misleading and contains several inaccuracies,” Cliff claims.

“The tribunal has declared the APT rules to be unlawful. MCFC’s position is that this means that all of the APT rules are void,” the letter states.

“The decision does not contain an ‘endorsement’ of the APT Rules, nor does it state that the APT Rules, as enacted, were ‘necessary’ in order to ensure the efficacy of the League’s financial controls.”

The Premier League’s position that City were unsuccessful in the majority of its challenge is described by Cliff as “a peculiar way of looking at the decision”.

He added: “While it is true that MCFC did not succeed with every point that it ran in its legal challenge, the club did not need to prove that the APT rules are unlawful for lots of different reasons. It is enough that they are unlawful for one reason.”

Cliff added that it was “not correct that the tribunal’s decision identifies ‘certain discrete elements’ of the APT rules that need to be amended in order to comply with competition and public law requirements.

“On the contrary: the APT Rules… have been found to be unlawful, as a matter of competition law and public law. This means that they are void and not capable of enforcement. This has very significant consequences for APTs that have been entered into to date and APTs that are currently being negotiated by clubs.

“Of even greater concern, however, is the PL’s suggestion that new APT rules should be passed within the next 10 days.”

The Premier League is seeking to amend its rules within the next fortnight so that they comply with competition law.

The tribunal – in a 175-page document – ruled that low-interest shareholder loans from owners to their clubs should not be excluded from the scope of APT rules, and that some amendments to toughen up the rules in February by should not be retained.

However Cliff warns that it is “remarkable that the Premier League is now seeking to involve the member clubs in a process to amend the APT rules at a time when it does not even know the status of those rules”.

He added: “We will be writing separately about this to the Premier League but in the meantime, given the findings in the award, this is the time for careful reflection and consideration by all clubs, and not for a knee-jerk reaction.

“Such an unwise course would be likely to lead to further legal proceedings with further legal costs. It is critical for member clubs to feel that they can have trust in their regulator.”