Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs set for Premier League meeting after Man City hearing
by Jack Flintham · football.londonArsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and the remainder of the Premier League clubs will be asked to vote on changes to Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules at a shareholders' meeting at the end of this month.
Earlier this year, Manchester City claimed victory in a battle with the Premier League over these regulations as they were deemed to be against the spirit of the UK's competition laws. The Premier League initially believed that the APT ruling proved that merely minor alterations were needed to abide by the panel's verdict.
However, City argued that the verdict made APT rules null and void. As such, the Premier League has taken some time to amend the regulations and is now ready to put them forward to their member clubs for a vote on November 22, The Times reports.
Key wording in the APT rules has been changed to try an appease City as well as the panel. The Premier League has chosen to soften the 'fair market value' aspect of APT which the Premier League champions found egregious.
This previous clause was included to stop owners' other businesses from inflating sponsorship deals to help clubs avoid Financial Fair Play (FFP) sanctions. Shareholder loans, which had been excluded from APT was of big concern to City and there remains some concern over this area.
The Premier League will need to secure 14 clubs' approval to pass the amendments to APT. Their hope will be that these proposals avoid civil war breaking out between the member clubs especially with further drama relating to City's alleged 115 breaches of financial regulations potentially around the corner.
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