Premier League clubs to face sanctions for inflating deals with associated parties

Premier League clubs could face sanctions if they are guilty of inflating their sponsorships through companies linked to their own owners, in a strategy aimed at stopping clubs such as Manchester City and Newcastle United from profiting financially from their partnerships with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

The 20 teams in the competition voted on the new rule last month, with a majority of 14 votes in favour to push it through. The championship's rules book was updated on Monday to include this measure, as it previously did not include possible sanctions against clubs that benefit from their relationships with companies involved in the ownership of their club to secure better commercial deals.

In the latest update to the rules, the Premier League states that, if a club is guilty, an independent commission will determine what kind of sanction it should receive, as is already the case with, for example, breaches of Financial Fair Play.

Under the new rules, it will be up to the teams to report to the league if one of them has reached an agreement with a company at an unfair market price. The domestic championship will determine whether the complaint is lawful or not and pass it on to the independent commission.

According to 'The Athletic', Manchester City argued that this new law undermines "freedom of the market".

In 2021, the clubs reached an agreement, despite opposition from City and Newcastle, that when a sponsorship deal over €1 million was struck, the Premier League would be informed of it to check that it was legal.

Clubs such as Emirates-held Manchester City have commercial deals with a number of companies in the country, including Etihad Airways, which gives its name to the stadium and is the main sponsor