A vote to amend the Premier League’s associated party transaction (APT) rules was withdrawn ahead of a clubs meeting on Thursday, but sources insist the change would only have been a minor one.
Reports on Thursday linked the decision to pull a vote connected to the databank, a tool used by the league’s board to assess fair market value in commercial deals, to Manchester City’s legal challenge to the APT rules.
The reports said it indicated a potential victory for the club in the case.
However, the PA news agency understands the change would not have been a substantive one even if it had been voted through, with sources close to the meeting describing it as minor.
The APT rules are designed to ensure that commercial deals with entities linked to a club’s owners are done for fair market value.
City’s APT case was heard by an arbitration panel under Section X of the Premier League rules, where any decision made remains private. The hearing was held over two weeks in June.
Under rule X.31, the chair of the panel – with the parties’ consent – can share an anonymised summary of the ruling where it is considered to have “wider application” to other clubs.
A City victory would surely trigger changes to the APT rules, which the clubs would need to be made aware of. However, beyond the dropped databank amendment, it is understood there was no further discussion of APT rule changes at Thursday’s meeting.
That could mean the panel has not made a decision yet, or that the Premier League won the case and no rule changes are required.
The Premier League was unable to comment on the matter under its own rules.
Manchester City declined to comment.
Thursday’s development led to calls for the Premier League to make the outcome public.
Sports law barrister Nick De Marco KC posted on X: “Everyone is now speculating about the alleged outcome of the MCFC v PL Rule X arbitration, and who might have won what.
“But nobody can know what the result is (if indeed there has been one) or how it was reached, because the PL cling on to absolute secrecy.
“It does their reputation no good at all, at a time the govt. is considering the powers of a new independent football regulator, to keep such important matters of football regulation, that affect the whole competition, secret.
“If there is a decision of the very learned panel, it should now be published.”