A decision about rules that left both sides claiming victory revealed the broken reality of the world’s richest competition.

Manchester City and the Premier League are embroiled in a legal dispute over Associated Party Transaction rules. Both parties are likely to lose in the end. The outcome could affect sponsorship deals and financial regulations within the league.

Manchester City have gone to the mattresses with the Premier League and depending on who you ask, it could mean everything or nothing. A three-strong tribunal panel of former judges ruled that City were unsuccessful in much of their legal case against the Premier League’s commercial and sponsorship rules,