Man City: Despite a legal challenge, Premier League clubs adopt revisions to the rules governing Associated Party Transactions.

Despite Manchester City's objection, Premier League clubs have approved modifications to the competition's Associated Party Transaction (APT) regulations.

Following an arbitration panel's decision last month that certain aspects of the league's APT regulations were illegal, both parties declared triumph.

Although it is believed that Man City, Aston Villa, Newcastle, and Nottingham Forest voted against the revisions, the Premier League has obtained the minimum of 14 votes from its member clubs to approve them.

In the arbitration held in the summer, Arsenal, Bournemouth, Brentford, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester United, West Ham, and Wolves provided evidence in support of the league.

Which rules apply to Associated Party Transactions?

According to Premier League regulations, any club, player, manager, or "senior official" must get permission before negotiating with "associated parties."

"Associated parties" are businesses or individuals with a substantial financial or other stake in the relevant club.

The board of the Premier League then examines each deal to see whether it thinks it represents a fair market value.

According to the league, the regulation eliminates a "reliance on enhanced commercial revenues linked to the club's ownership" and promotes "fairness" throughout the division.

In order to make the regulations legal and in accordance with UK competition law, the Premier League requested teams to vote on amendments.

This includes removing some of the APT rule changes from earlier this year, adding shareholder loans to the fair market value (FMV) evaluation, and altering how teams access the league's databank, which is used to determine FMV.

In a letter to the FA and the other 19 clubs, Man City's general counsel Simon Cliff cautioned them against supporting revisions that "entail material legal risk".

The league stated in a statement: "The regulation changes take into account the conclusions of an arbitration panel after Manchester City filed a lawsuit against the APT system earlier this year.

"Informed by several views from knowledgeable, independent leading counsel, the Premier League has carried out a thorough consultation with clubs to propose rule modifications that address necessary systemic reforms.

This pertains to the process of sharing pertinent data from the league's 'databank' with a club's advisers, the integration of the evaluation of shareholder loans, and the elimination of some of the APT rule modifications introduced earlier this year.

"The APT regulations are designed to prevent clubs from profiting from business agreements or cost reductions that are not at fair market value (FMV) through connections with related parties. These regulations were put in place to give the league a strong protection for its integrity, competitive balance, and financial stability.