Premier League clubs have approved changes to the associated party transaction (APT) rules at a meeting in central London.
Manchester City, Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest were the only clubs to vote against the proposed alterations.
Manchester City, whose arbitration with the Premier League in the summer led to an independent panel finding some aspects of the APT rules unlawful, were the most vocal about the changes being knocked down.
In the weeks since that decision was made public in October, legal letters were being sent between City and the Premier League over how the issue should be resolved.
The Premier League, due to being unable to process APT deals and potentially open to damages from other clubs trying to secure associated party deals in the interim period, were keen to table their list of amendments as quickly as possible.
They have been consulting with clubs for more than a month regarding changing the APT rules, with Manchester City’s view being that no vote should take place until the tribunal has provided its full guidance on the APT rules.
The Premier League have spent the last few weeks addressing the points that were found to be unlawful in the tribunal, leaving the other regulations in place.
Aston Villa’s co-owner, Nassef Sawiris, had called for the vote to be delayed, telling the Daily Telegraph on Wednesday that they will be “voting against the proposed APT rules”, lobbying instead for a three-month delay.
But 16 top-flight clubs voted in favour of amending the rules now, meaning the Premier League has scored a victory.
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