Premier League clubs are set to vote later this month on amendments to the financial rules challenged by Manchester City.
The champions had triggered an arbitration hearing by challenging the league’s associated party transaction (APT) rules on competition law grounds.
The arbitration panel found the rules – which are designed to ensure deals between clubs and entities linked to their ownership are done for fair market value (FMV) – were unlawful because they excluded shareholder loans.
City said that meant all the APT rules were void and accused the Premier League of “misleading” the other 19 clubs in its initial interpretation of the panel judgement.
Club statement
— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 7, 2024
However, rather than be scrapped, the rules are now set to be amended at a top-flight club shareholders’ meeting in central London on November 22.
It follows a period of consultation between the league and its clubs since the publication of the panel judgement on October 7.
Shareholder loans are set to be included in the amended rules but it is understood FMV tests will not be applied retrospectively to loans already agreed.
Clubs were asked to share details of shareholder loans it has, or has had, over the last three years, a period running either side of the APT rules first being introduced in December 2021.
An FMV assessment of shareholder loans might look at what rate of interest would be charged on such a loan in the open market, which could vary from club to club depending on their credit score.
Other amendments to the rules will grant clubs earlier access to a databank used by the Premier League in the FMV decision-making process and will roll back changes to the APT rules made in February.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here