Strong prosecution of the Premier League, Manchester City "first strike first"

Football Newspaper

2024-06-06 13:05Posted on the official account of Guangdong Football News

Strong prosecution of the Premier League, Manchester City "first strike first"

Although there are still five months to go before the Premier League's hearing accusing Manchester City of breaching FSR rules (Financial Sustainability and Club Licensing Rules), the Blues, who have just won their sixth Premier League title in seven years, do not want to wait. As many as 115 allegations of irregularities are confirmed, and based on the previous deduction standards for Everton and Nottingham Forest, Manchester City is likely to be deducted from relegation and the title will be handed over.

Manchester City's gold owners, the Abu Dhabi royal family, decided to go-for-tat and took the Premier League directly to court. Manchester City's legal team filed a 165-page indictment alleging that the Blues were victims of "discrimination" in the Premier League, stressing that the FSR rules voted by Premier League rivals seriously violated the market principles of free competition. In the indictment, Manchester City stressed that the Premier League's Related Party Transaction (APT) rules are also unlawful and hope they can be repealed. At the same time, they also claim tens of millions of pounds from the Premier League.

The lawsuit was filed on Feb. 16 and a hearing will take place on June 10.

According to the related party transaction rules, clubs are not allowed to enter into false sponsorship agreements with companies that are affiliated with their owners. The rule comes after the Saudi royal family bought Newcastle in 2021 and the Premier League met urgently to pass the rules. The APT rules stipulate that any sponsorship contract for a Premier League club must meet a "fair market value (as determined by the Premier League)". City believe that the related-party rules are an attempt to end the club's continued success and that clubs should be allowed to receive the sponsorship they deserve in order to improve the Premier League's capital competitiveness.

Many of the Premier League's 115 allegations against Manchester City relate to sponsorship contracts related to related party deals. Once the rule is overturned, City will be relieved of the burden.

On Monday, the Premier League began a two-week closed hearing, asking Premier League clubs to provide witnesses, testimony and support the charges against Manchester City. The Times claimed that 10 to 12 witnesses had attended the hearing, but at least one had expressed support for Manchester City.

The sponsorship of Manchester City by a company linked to the Abu Dhabi royal family is a central part of the Premier League's accusations of irregularities. In the 2009/10-2017/18 season, there were as many as 54 breaches of failing to provide accurate financial information, 14 breaches of providing accurate financial reporting of coaches and players' salaries during the same period, and 35 breaches of failing to cooperate with Premier League investigations since the 2018/19 season. In the 2015/16-2017/18 season, there were 7 breaches of FSR rules and 5 breaches of the UEFA Financial Fair Play Act.

Manchester City believe that the voting system of a two-thirds majority in the Premier League is an "unfair control" of clubs with "super" sponsorship ability to obtain more sponsorship contracts. Moreover, Premier League executives are also suspected of discriminating against "the Middle East holding owners of Premier League clubs", for which they said they have relevant evidence.

City's team of lawyers is strong enough to spend millions of dollars in this lawsuit to protect the club from trophy deprivation or even relegation. City invoked the Competition Act, which was in force since 1998, to emphasise that when Manchester United ruled the Premier League, there were no rules to limit spending and related party transactions. Seemingly fair rules are actually protecting the old giants and suppressing the emerging powers.

But apparently, most Premier League clubs don't share City's views. They believe that in a way, related-party transactions are cheating, leading to a wider gap between the rich and the poor in the Premier League.

If Manchester City win the lawsuit against the Premier League, it means that they can do whatever they want with enough money and lawyers. Daily Mail columnist Oult quipped: "If Manchester City win the case, it would be better to move the Premier League headquarters to Manchester City's United Aviation Stadium, because it means that Manchester City have in fact gained a better position than other clubs." ”

Manchester City's lawsuit against the Premier League will go down in history regardless of whether they win or lose. After all, this is the powerful capital behind a Premier League club, the first time it has openly challenged the authority of the league. This may lead to the 1992 history of Premier League clubs collectively challenging the FA to create a separate league. The Premier League, which challenged the success of the FA back then, became the challenged in this way, which can be regarded as a kind of reincarnation.

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