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

Richard Masters has written to Premier League clubs as their battle with Man City over APT rules continues

Richard Masters, Chief Executive of Premier League

Premier League chief executive has written to Everton and the other 19 clubs in the league to warn there will be no quick fix to associated party transaction rules (APT) after a legal battle with Manchester City ended last week. Both the league and City sought to claim victory after the case was concluded, with an independent panel siding with both parties on different issues.

The Premier League initially released a statement to say that their APT rules could be quickly amended to bring them in line with the panel’s ruling, with City then reportedly contacting rival clubs to issue their own warning against any “knee jerk reaction” to the ruling.

And the battle between City and the Premier League is showing no sign of ending, with the Manchester club accusing the league of ‘misleading’ their clubs. However the panel, made up of three retired judges, sided with the Premier League on 23 of 25 points contested.

The Times report that Masters has since written to all clubs, telling them the league would take “the necessary time to develop our proposals and the associated draft rule amendments”, with an emergency meeting thought to be set for next Thursday for clubs to discuss what happens next.

Masters wrote: “There have been many club conversations over recent days, with constructive and informative feedback provided.

“Also, thank you to those who provided information on shareholder loans. We now have a comprehensive set of information and data which is helping to inform our recommended approach and rule amendment drafting.”

“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.”

It remains to be seen what happens next, with City claiming that parts of the APT rules were deemed unlawful. That was after it was adjudged by the panel that the rules didn’t take into account interest-free loans which shareholders lend to clubs, of which Everton have around £450m worth. Although with owner Farhad Moshiri in the process of selling the club to The Friedkin Group, much of, if not all, of those shareholder loans will be written off completely.

Everton have had their own issues with Masters, however, after two PSR charges and points deductions last season, one of which was reduced significantly on appeal. The Toffees were one of three clubs to give evidence in support of City at the tribunal.