Breaking News: Aston Villa’s stance explained as Man City’s case against Premier League to start

The Premier League rivals of Aston Villa Manchester City is suing the Premier League in court.

Man City owner, Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, (centre with scarf) next to club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarrak (right) (Image: Photo by Tom Jenkins/Getty Images)

For the next two weeks, Aston Villa will be closely monitoring Manchester City’s legal action against the Premier League due to strict sponsorship regulations.

In a private arbitration, City’s solicitors are attempting to reverse the league’s Associated Party Transaction (ATP) regulations. If a club has common owners, the laws restrict what businesses can invest in it. It is stated that this action has triggered a “civil war” between elite clubs.

The city is requesting damages for lost revenue as a result of the measures’ enactment since they feel they are illegal. Commercial and sponsorship agreements between businesses controlled by or connected to the same club’s owners are governed by ATP regulations. According to the regulations, these transactions must be evaluated independently to make sure their value is reasonable. The 165-page legal document that The Times quotes claims that City is the victim of “discrimination” despite the fact that the laws were established to prevent the expansion of business dealings with firms connected to the club’s owners.

They also indicate that thus far, a maximum of twelve Premier League teams have consented to offer witness testimony or a letter endorsing the Premier League’s case. It is suggested, nevertheless, that ‘may fundamentally alter the landscape of the professional game’ should City succeed in their claim.

This is due to the fact that the champions and other wealthy clubs in the Premier League will be able to negotiate sponsorship deals without the need for an impartial evaluation. This will enable them to generate more money, which will enable them to spend more on signing new players to boost their rosters. Currently, Experience Abu Dhabi, Etisalat, and Etihad Airways are sponsors of City; all have ties to the club’s owners. The Times asserts that if the lawsuit is successful, it will support City’s defence against 115 allegations of financial fair play, some of which are related to the purported inflation of sponsorship agreements. The hearing is scheduled to begin in November.

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire stated on the BBC that “City feel the new rules are being introduced part-way during a season so haven’t properly been costed out by the Premier League in terms of time or impact or unintended consequences.” “They believe that a lobbying group made up of other clubs is pursuing them as a club.

“City is maybe the only Premier League team that I am aware of that has continuously stated that they support the independent football regulator because it is obvious that they disagree with the way that the Premier League is taking. Their goal is to maintain their position as the Premier League’s most prosperous commercial entity.

“They’ve overtaken Manchester United in the last couple of seasons and they feel that by targeting contracts with associated parties – and the Premier League rules appear to go further than UEFA and the accounting regulations themselves – this is giving them a competitive disadvantage and therefore it’s a competition issue.”