Manchester City has launched what is being described as ‘unprecedented’ legal action against the Premier League over its financial rules.
Merely weeks after becoming the first club in English football history to win the league title four seasons in a row, and ahead of its own 115-charge hearing – which first came to light in February 2023, with City found to have broken Financial Fair Play rules around 100 times over a nine-year period, starting in 2009 and going on until 2018 – The Times exclusively revealed yesterday (4 June) that Manchester City are now taking legal action against the Premier League.
The Manchester club is attempting to end the Premier League’s Associated Party Transaction (ATP) rules, according to The Times and several other major news outlets following.
🔺EXCLUSIVE
Manchester City have launched an unprecedented legal action against the Premier League in a move that has sparked civil war in English football’s top flight.
The outcome could dramatically alter the landscape of the professional game, @Lawton_Times reports
The rules in question are regarding the football organisation’s commercial and sponsorship deals with companies that are owned or associated with the same club’s owners – known as ‘Associated Parties’.
As things stand, according to Sky News and BBC News, the ATP rules dictate that the Premier League’s board is required to review each club’s transaction with the intent of assessing whether it believes they represent a ‘fair’ market value, and with an overall aim of helping to build “fairness” across the league as a whole.
According to the Premier League, the ATP rules work to end a “reliance on enhanced commercial revenues linked to the club’s ownership”.
Despite neither Manchester City or the Premier League responding to requests for comment on the widespread reports and hearing, The Times says it has seen a 165-page legal document in which City claim they are victims of “discrimination”, and that the amended rules were approved by its rivals to “stifle” the club’s success on the pitch.
Manchester City has launched ‘unprecedented’ legal action against the Premier League / Credit: Man City (via Facebook)
The Sky Blues – which are famously owned by City Football Group Ltd, of which the majority owner is the Abu Dhabi United Group, following the takeover in 2008 – have reportedly called the voting system “a tyranny of the majority”.
The legal dispute between City and the Premier League will be settled during a two-week arbitration hearing beginning on Monday 10 June, according to The Times.
The Times’ reporter, Matt Lawton – who wrote the exclusive article – says he believes City’s legal action has “sparked a civil war” among other football clubs.
The prices of drinks at Heaton Park for the five huge Manchester Oasis shows have been released in advance.
With the Gallagher brothers reuniting on stage in their hometown for the first time this weekend (and then again next week), it’s a huge moment for our city.
Those lucky enough to snag tickets have already forked out a small fortune to witness this moment in history (still scarred from the dynamic pricing debacle).
And most of us were probably bracing to spend another small fortune on beers at the Oasis Manchester gigs.
But you might be pleasantly surprised at the drinks prices up at Heaton Park for Oasis Live ’25.
It’s now been confirmed that pints of lager and cider will be just £6.50.
Before you turn your nose up, remember that pints at our two arenas – the AO Arena and Co-op Live are now sitting around the £9 mark.
Prices for other drinks, like wine and spirits, we’ll have to wait until Friday to see.
Heaton Park will also be the home of the ‘largest beer garden’ and the longest bars in the city for the Oasis reunion.
With a major heatwave predicted for the first shows, fans are being encouraged to stay hydrated (on WATER, not beer, please).
Ticket-holders will be allowed to bring a sealed bottle of water up to 500ml in with you, but it must be collapsible plastic.
Solid plastic and metal containers will be rejected on safety grounds.
There’s a free water point on site where you can fill up your bottles again.
Oasis will perform at Heaton Park in Manchester on 11, 12, 16, 19 and 20 July.
Resident doctors in England have voted to stage strike action over pay, and the dates for the industrial action have now been confirmed.
The British Medical Association (BMA) says doctors have ‘spoken clearly’ after the results of a vote published today revealed that 90% of resident doctors have voted in favour of a potential return to industrial action.
It comes after the ballot – which ran from 27 May until 7 July – saw a turnout of 55% members, with almost 30,000 (29,741) votes cast.
26,766 of those votes endorsed the use of strike action as part of efforts to restore pay, while just under 3,000 voted against it.
The result means that resident doctors have now secured a fresh mandate to stage industrial action when they choose from now until January 2026.
BMA resident doctors committee co-chairs, Melissa Ryan and Ross Nieuwoudt, said that, while no doctor took the possibility of striking lightly, a clear majority of members felt that they had ‘no other choice’ given the ongoing failures to restore pay.
They added that Health Secretary Wes Streeting has the power to ‘make the right decision’ on pay, and urged the Government to return to negotiations ‘as soon as possible’.
It’s now been confirmed that resident doctors will stage a full walk out from 7am on Friday 25 July until 7am on Wednesday 30 July.
These upcoming strikes come after resident doctors – formerly known as junior doctors, until 2024 – in England participated in an unprecedented 11 rounds of strike action after negotiations with the previous Conservative Government over restoring pay repeatedly stalled.
“Doctors have spoken and spoken clearly – they won’t accept that they are worth a fifth less than they were in 2008,” the committee co-chairs said. “Our pay may have declined but our will to fight remains strong.
“Doctors don’t take industrial action lightly, but they know it is preferable to watching their profession wither away.
“The next move is the Government’s – will it repeat the mistakes of its predecessor? Or will it do the right thing and negotiate a path to full pay restoration and the restoration of doctors’ confidence in our profession’s future?”
Emily Sergeant -
5th June 2024 
