Latest in Man City’s case v Premier League: Other clubs’ stance ‘revealed’ with lawyer line-up

Football is still rocking from Tuesday’s revelatory report in the Times that Manchester City have brought legal action against the Premier League.

City object to the Associated Party Transaction (APT) laws that were voted in by the league and claim it is stunting the division’s competitive growth. In a landmark case, the Blues are also seeking damages over the APT rules, which they claim have cost the club ten of millions in recent years.

There’s also been an allegation from City of discrimination against clubs with ties to the Gulf state, while they’re proposing an end to the two-thirds majority needed to secure new laws, which have been described as the ‘tyranny of the majority’.

Since the bombshell news broke, there have been several minor updates - we’ve summarised everything below…

What’s the latest news?

The Daily Mail claim Chelsea, Aston Villa and Newcastle United have sympathy with City’s case. The support of Chelsea and Newcastle is not surprising given their links to Saudi Arabia, another middle-eastern state with a large interest in global sport, while Villa’s co-owner Nassef Sawiris has a close relationship with City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak.

However, the Mail add ‘between 10 and 12 clubs have provided information in support of the Premier League’. That group includes  Manchester United, Arsenal, Fulham, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur.

A separate report in The Lawyer claims Everton will also back City. The same outlet listed the legal line-up of both parties in this unprecedented case. City’s team includes Lord Pannick KC, Paul Harris KC, Rob Williams KC, David Gregory and partners Deba Das and Rhodri Thomas. As for the Premier League, they will be represented by Andrew Hunter KC, Marie Demetriou KC, Richard Swallow, Smriti Sriram and Mark Zerdin.

Meanwhile, the Times report City’s legal dispute has ‘put the £900m funding deal for the EFL at risk’. An agreement between the 20 top-flight clubs and those in the three lower divisions was not agreed in March, and the Times claim several clubs were hesitant to part with funds for the EFL if they need to try and keep pace with City.

While City’s case is set to be concluded in two weeks, Sky Sports reporter Geraint Hughes outlined that should the arbitration panel not reach a satisfactory conclusion for either party, the case could end up in court.