MANCHESTER CITY have won their war with the Premier League over “unlawful” financial rules. An independent tribunal today ruled in favour of the four-in-a-row champions — insisting the regulations are “void and unenforceable”. The bombshell verdict could now trigger a series of multi-million-pound compensation claims from clubs and plunge the competition into crisis. And it means City have landed a blow in their ongoing legal battle with the Prem and their chief Richard Masters, despite the ruling being separate to the charges of 130 financial rule breaches levelled at the club.
![[Real Madrid players training at Etihad Stadium.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2025-general-view-real-madrid-970896555.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
An 18-page tribunal verdict has ruled the Prem’s sponsorship regulations on Associated Party Transactions — which ran from December 2021 to November 2024 — were unlawful in their entirety. Today's landmark ruling from a panel of three eminent former judges means the League now face coughing up £20million to pay their legal bills — and City’s. The APT rules were implemented following the Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle and covered sponsorship deals with companies related to a club’s owners.
![[Richard Masters, Premier League Chief Executive, at the Premier League Season Kick-Off.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2024-25-kick-off-embankment-925011693.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
But the verdict opens the door to the Toon, Abu Dhabi-owned City and other clubs making massive compensation claims. City — whose legal team was led by Lord Pannick — took the Prem to court after proposed deals with Etihad Airways and First Abu Dhabi Bank were blocked in 2023. They also accused Prem chiefs of attempting to mislead clubs ahead of November’s vote on ATP rule amendments, which were passed following a majority 16-4 vote.
BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS. Masters wrote to all 20 clubs today, conceding the “previous rules as a while are void and unenforceable,” but insisting “new rules were voted into force” and that clubs must comply with them. Today's panel, including former Master of the Rolls Lord Dyson, judged the ATP rules could not be amended by a series of “discrete” tweaks. But a Prem statement read: “This decision does not impact the valid operation of the new rules.
