Enemies, m'learned friends and the damage to a sport that's become a business and a geo-political plaything.
Manchester City do plenty that is good, football, community, education, employment etc, but this court action is plain wrong.
And so to court. And so to a fixture kicking off in London on Monday which could define all future fixtures, Manchester City versus the Premier League. It’s a fixture the game desperately doesn’t need, that damages the sport, setting clubs against each other, fanbases against each other, and ultimately benefits only lawyers.
This courtroom clash has been coming. The Premier League toughened up Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules on February 24, making it more difficult for clubs to inflate sponsorship deals with airlines and others they have links to. City voted against, are believed to have support from another sovereign state club in Newcastle United, and signalled they would be scrambling m’learned friends.
It will be interesting to see who else backs them. Chelsea, presumably. They want to spend. Aston Villa, seeking to maximise revenue, would certainly benefit from a freeing up of rules on sponsorship. “We're working around the clock trying to do sponsorship deals, changing the stadium to be beneficial to Financial Fair Play, find new revenue streams, take in our merchandise in-house and things of that nature,” Chris Heck, Villa’s president of business operations, told Villa TV recently. It looks 16-4 against City.