Premier League executives are to gather for the first time on Thursday since the hearing began into Manchester City’s alleged 130 breaches of league rules, and that will not be the only legal issue concerning clubs at the top-flight shareholders’ meeting.
The so-called “trial of the century”, concerning allegations that span nine seasons and which accuse City of deliberately withholding information from the competition of which they have been champions in six of the past seven years – they deny all charges – will undoubtedly be of concern to clubs, even if it is not expected to reach a conclusion for months. But it is hardly the only part of the league’s governance that is being scrutinised by lawyers.
There is some anticipation that the results of a second claim could be shared with clubs at the meeting in central London. Brought by City against the Premier League, it relates to the competition’s rules regarding associated party transactions: deals conducted with companies related to a club’s ownership, which City are understood to have argued are uncompetitive. A two-week arbitration hearing was completed in June and a verdict is now expected, though there is no obligation to make its contents public.
Should City win the case, it would pose a direct challenge to attempts to increase competitive balance in the division and be a further blow to the Premier League’s credibility as a rule-making body. This month, another legal case saw Leicester win an appeal over a points reduction imposed for breaching profitability and sustainability rules. The appeal panel found that the rules were insufficiently rigorous to be applied to clubs who had, like Leicester, been relegated and filed accounts after their membership of the top flight had been revoked.
The eyes of many executives will be on further rule changes coming down the path too, with revised profitability and sustainability rules that echo those of Uefa and a system known as top to bottom anchoring being trialled with a view to being introduced permanently from next season. City, as well as Manchester United and Aston Villa, are opposed to the anchoring rules, which would tie spending on players at the top of the division to multiples of prize money earned by the Premier League’s bottom side. The Guardian understands that possible legal challenges have been mooted here too, should the rules be voted through.
The Premier League is desperate to move forward with its financial rules in order to bring about a new, broader settlement among its clubs. That there are a growing number of clubs who are unhappy, not about the rules but about how much defending them is costing in legal fees, may ultimately prove helpful to the organisation’s leadership. It is understood clubs have been informed before the meeting that costs have gone past £45m.
