Premier League confirm Man City legal case result with huge Arsenal and Chelsea impact

The Premier League have voted to approve changes to Associated Party Transactions (APTs), a statement confirms. It comes after reigning champions Manchester City fought to have them ruled as unlawful.

"The Premier League has conducted a detailed consulation with clubs - informed by multiple opinons from expert, independent Leading Counsel - to draft rule changes that address amdenments required to the system," an official reading says.

“This relates to integrating the assessment of Shareholder loans, the removal of some of the amendments made to APT rules earlier this year and changes to the process by which relevant information from the League’s ‘databank’ is shared with a club’s advisors.

"The purpose of the APT rules is to ensure clubs are not able to benefit from commercial deals or reductions in costs that are not at Fair Market Value (FMV) by virtue of relationships with Associated Parties. These rules were introduced to provide a robust mechanism to safeguard the financial stability, integrity and competitive balance of the League.”

The vote took place on Friday morning at the Nobu Hotel in Portman Square, London. It came after City alleged that rules put in place following Newcastle's takeover by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) had been discriminatory against Gulf States.

That claim was rejected by the independent panel and City have since been dealt a blow as their attempts to delay the vote this week were rejected. This is despite Aston Villa chairman Nassef Sawiris writing to clubs to urge caution over backing the league.

“In our view, a vote in 90 days on amended terms taking into consideration the tribunal’s findings will have a significantly greater chance of securing the unanimous support of all 20 Premier League clubs," he wrote. 14 clubs needed to vote against the changes but that was not successful from a City perspective.

City had hoped to stop the Premier League from swiftly altering rules in the belief that any fixes would be just as lawfully wrong. Their competitors and rivals appear to disagree strongly.

The result means that some form of APT rules are back in play, restricting clubs from passing inflated sponsorship deals with companies that have ties to their ownership or other shareholders.