Man City launch fresh legal challenge on Premier League's Associated Party Transaction rules

Manchester City have launched a fresh legal challenge against the Premier League's new sponsorship rules.

The Premier League champions' lawyers have contacted Premier League officials to seek another arbitration hearing concerning Associated Party Transaction rules (APT).

The APT rules regulate commercial deals entered into between clubs and companies linked to their owners, requiring them to be of "fair market value."

The controversial rules aim to prevent the richest clubs from inflating such deals and spending more on players to ensure the Premier League remains competitive.

It appears Manchester City are not happy with the changes to rules and are understood to view the rules as anti-competitive.

In November, the English champions were defeated when a majority of top-flight clubs voted in favour of the changes to APT rules, which were prompted by a legal challenge by City last June. City deemed the rules to be part of "a tyranny of the majority".

Both sides claimed victory last October after an arbitration panel found that some elements of the league's APT rules were unlawful.

The Premier League asked clubs to vote on changes it believes will make the rules lawful and compliant with UK competition law. This included adding shareholder loans to the fair market value (FMV) assessment, the removal of some of the amendments made to APT rules earlier this year and changes to how clubs access the league's databank, which is used to make FMV decisions.

Both sides claimed victory last October after an arbitration panel found that some elements of the league's APT rules were unlawful.

But the Premier League secured the minimum 14 votes it needed from member clubs to pass the amendments, with City, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest understood to have voted against them.

The Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has written a letter to Premier League clubs informing them of Manchester City's latest legal action - the letter was sent out yesterday afternoon.

In the letter, Masters says: "The Premier League remains strongly of the view that the amendments passed in November were lawful and the APT rules comply with all competition law requirements. We consider that the new arbitration must be resolved as soon as possible and, to that end, have agreed that the same tribunal should be appointed to hear the new case.

"The parties are currently corresponding in relation to further directions. He added, "The APT rules remain in full force and effect and clubs remain required to comply with all aspects of the system."