Manchester City aren’t ruining the Premier League they did that themselves | OneFootball

It has gone under the radar, so to speak, but Manchester City’s legal ‘victory’ over the Premier League is a big story. An independent panel did find that sections of the Premier League’s APT(Associated Party Transaction) rules were first unlawful in October, and now the APT rules implemented from 2021-2024 are void and unenforceable. That is a massive story and a huge black eye for the Premier League as an organisation.

But coming out of that story we have seen the usual stories that Manchester City are in danger of ‘destroying the Premier League‘ or ‘Manchester City’s victory is a defeat for football‘ arise. Those stories are wide of the mark. Manchester City didn’t create this situation. The Premier League did that and the situation they find themselves in is entirely of their own making.

To look at how we found ourselves here you need to look at why the APT rules were introduced. The following piece from Ciaran Kelly of the Chronicle paints the picture. With the Newcastle takeover complete and their new owner’s tremendous wealth well known, the APT rules were born. It’s from that point onwards where the Premier League dug the hole they find themselves in. A set of rules were rushed in that were found unlawful. That’s not Manchester City’s fault nor is it Newcastle’s. It’s the Premier League’s. It’s as simple as that.

Not even Manchester City dispute the fact that there needs to be rules that level the playing field so to speak. Actually, no one has disputed that fact. But the rules need to be lawful and fair for all. We can’t have shareholder loans exempt from PSR calculations while associated party transactions are heavily scrutinized for example. Just level the playing field and make the rules fair for all. That’s it. It’s not a tough concept to grasp but it does get lost in the tribalism of football and the ever perpetuating narrative of Manchester City being cast as the bad guy of the affair. You do feel that if that part of the equation is solved then the game can move on. Whether or not we get to that point remains to be seen.

But it’s not Manchester City that have caused this issue or are on the verge of destroying the fabric of the Premier League. The Premier League got us to this position. City’s legal challenges don’t occur if the APT rules were lawful in the first place. It’s as simple as that. The Premier League caused this issue and that’s the story. It always has been that way from the moment Manchester City first challenged the Premier League’s APT rules. But that does get lost at times in the coverage of the entire affair.