Man City accuses the Premier League of “misleading” clubs over the court ruling

In the letter, Cliff offered “clarifications” to “help member clubs understand” in response to a summary of the panel's decision by Premier League boss Richard Masters.

“Regrettably, the summary is misleading and contains several inaccuracies,” Cliff claims.

“The court declared the APT rules illegal. MCFC takes the position that this means that all APT rules are invalid,” the letter said.

“The decision does not constitute an 'endorsement' of the APT Rules, nor does it state that the APT Rules, as amended, were 'necessary' to ensure the effectiveness of the League's financial controls.”

The Premier League said in its summary that the tribunal had “identified a small number of individual elements of the rules which, in their current form, did not meet competition and public service requirements” and that these could be “remedied quickly and effectively”.

However, the league's position that City were unsuccessful for most of their tie is described by Cliff as “a peculiar way of looking at the decision”.

He added: “While it is true that MCFC has not been successful on every point it raised in its legal challenge, the club has not had to prove that the APT rules are unlawful for many different reasons. It is enough that they are unlawful for one reason.”

Cliff added that it was “incorrect that the tribunal's decision identifies 'certain individual elements' of the APT Rules that need to be amended to meet competition and public law requirements.”

He added: “On the contrary, the APT rules… have been found to be unlawful, both from a competition law and public law perspective. This means they are void and unenforceable. This has very significant consequences for APTs.” Contracts concluded so far and APTs currently being negotiated by the clubs.

“Of even greater concern, however, is the PL’s proposal that new APT rules should be adopted within the next 10 days.”

The Premier League wants to change its rules within the next two weeks to ensure they comply with competition law.

The court ruled in a 175-page document that low-interest shareholder loans from owners to their clubs should not be excluded from the scope of the APT rules and that some changes to tighten the rules in February should not be retained.

However, Cliff warns that it is “remarkable that the Premier League is now attempting to involve member clubs in a process to change the APT rules, despite not even knowing the status of those rules.”

He added: “We will write to the Premier League about this separately, but in the meantime, given the findings in the award, it is time for all clubs to think and consider carefully and not react hastily.”

“Such an unwise course would likely result in further litigation with further legal costs. It is vital for member clubs to feel they can trust their regulator.”