City launch legal action against the Premier League (2024)

FAQs

Have Man City taken legal action against the Premier League? ›

Manchester City have taken legal action against the Premier League over new rules, introduced in December 2021 and revised in January 2024, governing "associated party transactions" (APTs).

The reigning champions will present their case to an independent commission next month, with a decision expected to be made public next spring. In the meantime, City have been told to expect a "massive" points deduction by former Sky Sports pundit Andy Gray.

City - who won a record-breaking fourth consecutive Premier League title last month - are already contesting 115 charges of breaching Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules. The club is owned by Abu Dhabi sovereign investors and has previously expressed its opposition to tighter APT rules.

Manchester City have been fined just over £2m by the Premier League for breaching rules relating to kick-off and re-starts after half-time of matches.

Manchester City have been fined more than £2million by the Premier League relating to kick-off and restart obligations. City have accepted they breached Premier League rule L. 33 on 22 separate occasions, eight times in the 2022-23 season and on 14 occasions in the 2023-24 campaign.

City have brought a hugely significant legal challenge against the Premier League's introduction and enforcement of APT rules, leading to an 11-day arbitration hearing. The club voted against APTs when they were first tabled three ago and again when the rules were tightened in February this year.

However, this was only a temporary respite, and following Reid's departure Manchester City's fortunes continued to fade. City were co-founders of the Premier League upon its creation in 1992, but after finishing ninth in its first season they endured three years of struggle before being relegated in 1996.

Man City may be RELEGATED from the Premier League if found guilty of the most SERIOUS of their 115 charges, confirms Martyn Ziegler!

It is now 18 months since City were charged, following a four-year investigation, and Premier League chief executive Richard Masters recently told BBC Sport "it is time now for the case to resolve itself".

In their 2020 judgement, Uefa banned City from the Champions League for two seasons and fined them 30m euros. Although the punishment was overturned by Cas, it has led to a feeling they could be kicked out of the Premier League, which would be unprecedented.

What clubs are supporting the Man City lawsuit? ›

What is now being reported is that three clubs have declared themselves supportive of the City case: Aston Villa, Chelsea and Newcastle United. Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool are said to be leading the opposition to the claim. Aston Villa is part owned by Egypt's richest man, Nassef Sawiris.

According to the Premier League, Man City broke the rules over nine seasons by allegedly failing to provide accurate financial information. Among the charges against City are that they didn't fully disclose the financial remunerations that were made to one of their managers over a four-year period.

The Premier League is at a “critical juncture in its history” as it is facing the first legal action against its rules from a member club and “the biggest shake-up in its financial rules for more than a decade is on the horizon,” according to Martyn Ziegler of the London TIMES.

Manchester City and Manchester United have been cleared to take their places in European competition next season after conflicts over multi-club ownership with Girona and Nice respectively were resolved.