Manchester City have suffered a defeat in their long-running legal battle with the Premier League, who have seen proposed changes to Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules approved by a majority of teams.
Back in October, both Man City and the Premier League claimed respective victories in their fight over APT rules, which seek to ensure that commercial dealings linked to a club's owners are of fair market value.
City claimed that they had been unfairly blocked from striking lucrative sponsorship deals with Etihad Aviation Group and First Abu Dhabi Bank, and the Premier League were also ordered to alter regulations surrounding shareholder loans after they were found to have been unlawful.
A vote was cast of all 20 Premier League clubs during a meeting in London on Friday morning, and according to BBC Sport, 16 teams voted in favour of the proposed amendments to APT rules.
Man City are believed to be one of the four sides to have voted against the tweaks, alongside Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Newcastle United, but the Premier League needed just 14 clubs to vote in favour for the changes to be approved.
What changes have been made to the APT rules?
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A Premier League statement revealed that the alterations to APT rules predominantly relate to shareholder loans, which were previously exempt from the regulations, allowing owners to pump money into a club at either low interest rates or interest-free.
All shareholder loans from November 22 onwards must be submitted as an APT, and if the Premier League determines that the transaction is not fair market value, it must be varied or terminated.
Furthermore, any shareholder loans between December 14, 2021 and November 22, 2024 must also go down as an APT, and adjustments must be made to a club's accounts if those loans are not deemed to be fair market value.
The Premier League have also confirmed that changes will be made to the "databank" sharing process, after Man City successfully argued that they could not justify their blocked deals on account of being unable to view the data that the governing body uses as a benchmark.
Premier League APT rules statement in full:
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"At a Premier League Shareholders' meeting today, clubs approved changes to the League's Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules. The amendments to the rules address the findings of an Arbitration Tribunal following a legal challenge by Manchester City to the APT system earlier this year.
"The Premier League has conducted a detailed consultation with clubs - informed by multiple opinions from expert, independent Leading Counsel - to draft rule changes that address amendments required to the system.
"This relates to integrating the assessment of Shareholder loans, the removal of some of the amendments made to APT rules earlier this year, and changes to the process by which relevant information from the League's "databank" is shared with a club's advisors.
"The purpose of the APT rules is to 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."
Man City's APT fight with the Premier League is separate to their long-running battle over the champions' 115 charges over alleged breaches of financial rules, the hearing for which began in September.
