Sport

Man City are given HUGE show of support in their war against the Premier League

Admin 3 days ago

8 1 minute read

Aston Villa have called on the Premier League to call off Friday's vote on changes to sponsorship rules – a major show of support for Manchester City as their war with the league continues.

The Midlands club have written to all top clubs in an email 'strongly recommending' that the proposed vote, which will take place in London, is postponed.

Villa, previously known as a sympathizer of City's cause, has given three reasons for calling for a postponement. They highlight new potential legal challenges, continued uncertainty and further changes to the rules following the introduction of an independent regulator.

In what is a significant development, Villa have taken action after City wrote to clubs last week urging a postponement of the vote, claiming the Premier League's proposed rule changes remained 'unlawful' and the prospect prompted further legal action.

While the Premier League declined to comment, Mail Sport believes the competition is determined to go ahead with the vote.

City initially took the league to a tribunal following changes to regulations on associated party transactions (APTs) – commercial deals with parties linked to club owners – this year.

In September, a panel ruled that parts of the rules were unlawful, largely because shareholder loans – funds lent to clubs by players with a stake of more than 5 percent – were excluded from the Fair Market Value (FMV) test of the competition.

After the verdict, chief executive Richard Masters assured clubs that changes could be implemented 'quickly and effectively'. That claim was rejected by City's legal adviser Simon Cliff, who accused Masters of trying to mislead in his own email to clubs.

In a letter shared by City with the other 19 teams, the Premier League attacked City's position and accused its own champions of making 'repeated and unsubstantiated claims'.

Villa is also said to have questioned what they believe is the continued leakage of information, which they claim is 'not helpful'.