Richard Masters has written to Premier League clubs as their battle with Man City over APT rules continues
The Premier League’s chief executive has written to Everton and the league’s other 19 clubs, warning that there will be no quick fix to associated party transaction rules (APT) following the conclusion of a court dispute with Manchester City last week. Following the conclusion of the dispute, both the league and the City sought to claim victory, with an independent panel ruling with both parties on several matters.
The Premier League first issued a statement stating that their APT rules could be easily altered to align with the panel’s finding, with City then apparently contacting rival clubs to give their own warning against any “knee jerk reaction” to the decision.
And the struggle between City and the Premier League shows no signs of slowing, with the Manchester club accusing the league of’misleading’ their clubs. However, the panel, which consisted of three retired judges, sided with the Premier League on 23 of the 25 points challenged.
According to the Times, Masters has subsequently written to all clubs, informing them that the league will take “the necessary time to develop our proposals and the associated draft rule amendments,” with an emergency meeting scheduled for next Thursday to decide what happens next.
Masters wrote: “There have been numerous club discussions in recent days, with constructive and helpful input presented.
“Also, thank you to everyone who contributed information about shareholder loans. We now have a thorough set of information and statistics to help influence our proposed approach and rule modification drafting.”
“We will circulate these to clubs when fully considered and ready, which may impact on the scheduling of our planned meetings with financial controls and legal advisory groups, and all clubs next week.”
It remains to be seen what happens next, as City claims that some of the APT guidelines were declared illegal. The panel determined that the guidelines did not account for interest-free loans made by shareholders to clubs, of which Everton has approximately £450 million. Although owner Farhad Moshiri is in the process of selling the club to The Friedkin Group, many, if not all, of those shareholder debts will be written off entirely.
Everton has had its own troubles with Masters, including two PSR charges and points reductions last season, one of which was dramatically reduced on appeal. The Toffees were one of three clubs that testified in support of City at the tribunal.
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