Richard Masters breaks silence in letter to Newcastle and clubs after Man City bombshell


Richard Masters has written to Newcastle United and member clubs to confirm the Premier League are taking the 'necessary time' to develop amendments to sponsorship rules.

Masters, the top-flight's chief executive, has reached out to stakeholders after both the Premier League and Manchester City claimed victory in their arbitration battle. The champions have proclaimed that associated party transactions (APT) have been found to be 'unlawful', but the Premier League insisted they will 'continue to operate the existing APT system, taking into account the findings made by the tribunal'.

The APT rules must now integrate the assessment of shareholder loans and remove some of the amendments made to the regulations earlier this year. The Premier League had said in a statement earlier this week that the top-flight were 'conducting a process that can allow the league and clubs to enact those specific changes quickly and effectively'.

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However, Simon Cliff, Manchester City's general counsel, called for 'careful reflection and consideration by all clubs, and not for a knee-jerk reaction' in a letter sent to top-flight sides. Cliff, who declared all APT rules to be 'void', warned that 'such an unwise course would be likely to lead to further legal proceedings'.

Now, in what appears to be a noticeable change of tone, ahead of an emergency meeting on Thursday, Masters said that the league were 'taking the necessary time to develop our proposals and the associated draft rule amendments for club consideration'.

"There have been many club conversations over recent days, with constructive and informative feedback provided," he wrote. "We now have a comprehensive set of information and data which is helping to inform our recommended approach and rule amendment drafting.

"We are taking the necessary time to develop our proposals and the associated draft rule amendments for club consideration. We will circulate these to clubs when fully considered and ready, which may impact on the scheduling of our planned meetings with Financial Controls and Legal Advisory Groups, and all clubs next week."

Manchester City argued that the evidence on which the Premier League relied in order to introduce the APT rules included 'fear mongering about the takeover of Newcastle United'. It was an echo of Amanda Staveley's comments when the former Newcastle owner said there was 'a fear that we'd have an unfair advantage' - even if the Magpies were in deep relegation trouble at the time.

It was rather telling that the tribunal accepted there was no document recording any discussion about a revision to PSR rules until Masters wrote to all member clubs just a few days after receiving an email from an executive on behalf of 11 clubs requesting a vote on introducing a short-term ban on related-party transactions following Newcastle's buy-out. New permanent APT rules were voted through by 18 clubs within a couple of months.

Manchester City said that the process was 'rushed, ill-thought-out' and such was the urgency, the tribunal found that the top-flight 'did not engage any outside consultants to consider either the effectiveness of the then current related-party transaction rules or the necessity for or proportionality of moving to an ex ante system along the lines of the APT rules' during the consultation period.