Manchester City fans staged a protest outside the Premier League’s head office in London on Tuesday amid the top-flight’s civil war.
It came hours after City officials had engaged in a heated meeting with the other clubs and Premier League chiefs, in the wake of a tribunal ruling which found some of the league’s associated party transaction (APT) rules were unlawful.
A City supporters’ group claimed responsibility for the vehicle outside the Premier League’s Paddington office which carried a giant screen displaying the club crests of Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham alongside the words “Richard’s Masters”, a jibe targeting the Premier League’s chief executive Richard Masters.
Inside the meeting, Masters insisted to clubs that some amendments to the existing APT rules would ensure they were robust and lawful. These amendments will go to a vote and will need 14 clubs to approve them.
The Premier League believes the rules can be quickly and effectively remedied, and says it will continue to operate the existing APT system. City disagree emphatically and say the whole system is now void.
After the tribunal’s ruling, the league said in a statement: “The Premier League welcomes the tribunal’s findings, which endorsed the overall objectives, framework and decision-making of the APT system. The tribunal upheld the need for the APT system as a whole and rejected the majority of Manchester City’s challenges. Moreover, the tribunal found that the rules are necessary in order for the league’s financial controls to be effective.
“The decision represents an important and detailed assessment of the APT rules, which ensure clubs are not able to benefit from commercial deals or reductions in costs that are not at Fair Market Value (FMV) by virtue of relationships with Associated Parties. These rules were introduced to provide a robust mechanism to safeguard the financial stability, integrity and competitive balance of the league.”
