Premier League
Set back for English Premier League board
The Premier League’s sponsorship regulations between 2021 and 2024 are “void and unenforceable”, a tribunal ruled on Friday.
The decision follows a legal challenge by Manchester City against the league’s Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules, which regulate commercial deals between clubs and companies linked to their owners if considered above fair market value.
“In the first partial final award, the APT Rules and the amended APT Rules were found to be unlawful in three respects,” the tribunal said in its conclusion.
“There now arises for decision the question of whether those three respects can be severed from the remaining APT rules so that those remaining APT rules are valid and enforceable.
“The three respects in which the APT rules and amended APT rules were unlawful cannot be severed with the result that the APT rules as a whole are void and unenforceable.”
The Premier League has said the ruling does not affect the “valid operation” of its current APT rules, which were amended in November despite objections from City, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, and Aston Villa.
“The result, the Tribunal has determined, is that the previous APT Rules, as a whole, are unenforceable,” the Premier League said in a statement.
“However, the previous APT rules are no longer in place, as Clubs voted new APT rules into force in November 2024. This decision expressly does not impact the valid operation of the new rules,” the English league added.
Invalidated rules included low-interest shareholder loans and competition law conflicts outlined by a tribunal last year.
Reigning champions City had previously criticised the Premier League’s approach, arguing that changes to the regulations should not have been implemented before the tribunal’s final ruling.
In a separate independent hearing, City claimed a partial victory after an arbitration panel ruled on sponsorship deals that the club was blocked from completing.
City, who have won eight Premier League titles, one Champions League, three FA Cups and six League Cups since being bought by Sheikh Mansour’s Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008, were accused of more than 100 alleged breaches of finance rules.
They are expected to find out the verdict for the alleged financial breaches later this year.
-Reuters
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Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
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Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
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