Nassef Sawiris, the Aston Villa owner, has warned the “embattled” Premier League its turbulent legal fight with Manchester City is now costing the competition dear.
Egypt’s richest man became the first club owner to speak out as he detailed why he is backing City in the associated-party-transaction row which divides the 20 clubs. In a statement setting out his position to Telegraph Sport ahead of a knife-edge vote between executives, the billionaire warns:
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Friday’s crunch decision on APT rule amendments must be postponed until February to allow the league to present a “united front”
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Ongoing splits could harm crucial negotiations with the Government after strengthened legislation for a new regulator was relaunched last month
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“Astronomical costs” relating to the row with City and other clubs will also spiral even further as clubs consider fresh challenges
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Collectively agreeing to new APT rules would lead to “a fresh start” and draw a line under a rift first sparked during the 2021 Super League breakaway
Clubs say privately that Friday’s summit in central London is now too close to call after Villa joined City in speaking out against rule changes. The Premier League needs 14 of its 20 clubs to vote in favour of proposed changes to sponsorship rules to draw a line under a prior legal challenge from City.
City took the Premier League to a tribunal last summer and an independent panel’s judgment, published last month, found two aspects of APT rules were unlawful. The Premier League has maintained that “discrete elements” of its rules can “quickly and effectively be remedied”, but City still maintain APT laws introduced in 2021 are “discriminatory and distortive”.
Becoming the first Premier League owner to go public with his position, Sawiris says the league should delay Friday’s vote as it attempts to heal rifts that “began with the failed attempt to launch a Super League in 2021”.
He spoke out after Telegraph Sport disclosed on Tuesday how Villa had rallied behind City in the intensifying APT row in a letter telling other clubs that the league’s ongoing civil war is “critically weakening” the top tier.
Explaining his view, Sawiris, 63, said “we will be voting against the proposed APT rules” as clubs need time to reach a unanimous position.
“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 said in a statement.
“Crucially, a unanimous vote will present a fresh start for an embattled Premier League that began with the failed attempt to launch a Super League in 2021. With the imminent arrival of the Government’s independent football regulator, it is more important than ever that the Premier League can present itself to the regulator with a united front. In our view, this will be far more easily achieved if the APT vote is held in February and supported unanimously by all clubs.”
The league has been consulting for more than a month with clubs on changes to its rules on APTs. Those regulations, in place since 2021, effectively involve fair market value tests being applied to any sponsorship or transfer deals struck where a club owner may have financial interest on both sides of the deal. Changes include proposals to make shareholder loans subject to fair market value tests – but there are tensions over whether the rules would then be applied retrospectively.
In June, shortly after City’s hearing began against APT rules, Sawiris first aired concerns over the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability regulations in an interview with the Financial Times. In September, other clubs also voiced concerns privately at legal bills for all the league’s high-profile cases, including those against City.
‘Legal bills have reached astronomical amounts’
In his new statement to Telegraph Sport, Sawiris expresses concern that costs will continue to spiral, with City warning of more potential legal action if APT amends in the wake of the tribunal’s findings are voted through.
His statement added: “It is noteworthy that legal bills to date on this matter have already reached astronomical amounts; further challenges and escalation of these fees could be avoided through reaching consensus. Ultimately, a unanimous vote will showcase the emergence of a new era of clubs who can compete vigorously on the pitch but work together to strengthen the Premier League and its global appeal.”
Telegraph Sport has previously reported how Villa’s ownership has grown increasingly sympathetic towards the Abu Dhabi-owned club’s cause, but this major intervention ahead of the crunch vote is the first time any rival has gone public with support.
In a separate letter written to Premier League clubs, Villa argued that the forthcoming vote should be postponed and warned the Premier League will be “weakened” by any further public conflict with City.
They wrote: “It is now abundantly clear that any vote (if passed) will result in immediate further litigation by Manchester City FC and an associated defence by the EPL [English Premier League], incurring material further costs and unnecessary distraction and devotion of time to this issue.
“It is highly likely that the tribunal will conclude within the coming three months, and that an APT rule that takes into consideration the tribunal’s verdict will be supported by all clubs and cannot be contested.”
Despite the concerns, the Premier League still intends to press ahead with the vote on amends which follow a legal challenge by City brought after the league rejected a huge new Etihad sponsorship deal for not being of fair market value. The independent tribunal has yet to provide full clarification on the status of the league’s APT rules after its judgment.
Villa’s intervention comes after City and the Premier League had attacked each other’s positions ferociously in other letters sent in recent days. City have written to rivals to tell them they are voting “blind” on amendments to APT rules that remain “void” while a tribunal clarifies a 175-page ruling last month.
The league, however, has sent a lengthy letter dismissing the club’s interpretation of findings and taking particular exception to criticism in a prior letter from City regarding its role as a regulator.
At a Premier League meeting in June, Villa also failed with a proposal to increase the allowed losses over three years to £135 million. Current rules stipulate that clubs can lose £105 million over the three-year reporting period and Villa’s argument to increase it by £30 million was voted out.
