Manchester City have managed to get one over the Premier League in their bitter legal war after the top flight's sponsorship deals were branded 'unlawful'.
A panel of judges ruled that the Premier League unlawfully blocked City from completing two major deals due to the Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules.
City are still facing 115 charges for allegedly breaking Premier League financial rules, but City took the league to court in a separate case earlier this year.
The APT rules were first introduced back in December 2021 - shortly after the Saudi Arabia-backed Public Investment Fund bought Newcastle.
Manchester City have secured a big legal victory
PA
The Premier League claim they were created to try and safeguard the 'financial stability, integrity, and competitive balance of the League'.
The rules were updated earlier this year to put further restrictions on loans and purchases of players between clubs.
But the new ruling has blown the lid off the Premier League which could have major repercussions for teams up and down the lead.
The panel ruled that the system was 'unlawful' and they could not extend to loans from owners and shareholders.
According to the Daily Mail, all of Arsenal's £250million borrowings come from shareholder loans.
It's suggested that other teams may now be impacted with the Premier League likely forced to get rid of the rules altogether.
Brighton, West Ham, Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal gave evidence in favour of the Premier League while Chelsea, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Everton backed City.
City's club statement read: "Following today’s publication of the Rule X Arbitral Tribunal Award, Manchester City Football Club thanks the distinguished members of the Arbitral Tribunal for their work and considerations and welcomes their findings.
The verdict is seen as a huge defeat for the Premier League
PA
"The Tribunal found that both the original APT rules and the current, (amended) APT Rules violate UK competition law and violate the requirements of procedural fairness.
"The Premier League was found to have abused its dominant position.
"The Tribunal has determined both that the rules are structurally unfair and that the Premier League was specifically unfair in how it applied those rules to the Club in practice.
LATEST SPORT NEWS:
The case is separate to the 115 charges Manchester City face
pa
"The rules were found to be discriminatory in how they operate, because they deliberately excluded shareholder loans.
"As well as these general findings on legality, the Tribunal has set aside specific decisions of the Premier League to restate the fair market value of two transactions entered into by the Club.
"The tribunal held that the Premier League had reached the decisions in a procedurally unfair manner.
"The Tribunal also ruled that there was an unreasonable delay in the Premier League’s fair market value assessment of two of the Club’s sponsorship transactions, and so the Premier League breached its own rules."