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Manchester City have warned an 'unwise course' could lead to further legal proceedings in a letter sent to Newcastle United and Premier League clubs.

Manchester City's arbitration battle against the Premier League illustrated the split in the top-flight when it comes to associated party transactions (APTs). Newcastle, for instance, were among those who provided a written statement in support of Manchester City, while a senior figure at the club was called as a witness, but the top-flight relied upon evidence from Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and West Ham, and Brentford, Bournemouth, Fulham and Wolves also wrote letters in support of the APT rules.

What happens next will be fascinating after both sides claimed to have emerged victorious. APT rules must now integrate the assessment of shareholder loans and the Premier League will have to remove some of the amendments made to the regulations earlier this year.

The Premier League revealed that the top-flight are conducting a process that can allow the league and clubs to 'enact those specific changes quickly and effectively', and an emergency meeting of clubs is due to be held next week. Although a vote on rule amendments is not expected to take place, Simon Cliff, Manchester City's general counsel, has claimed the Premier League have suggested that new APT rules 'should be passed within the next 10 days'.

"We will be writing separately about this to the PL but in the meantime, given the findings in the award, this is the time for careful reflection and consideration by all clubs, and not for a knee-jerk reaction," he wrote in a strongly-worded letter to all of the other 19 top-flight sides. "Such an unwise course would be likely to lead to further legal proceedings with further legal costs. It is critical for member clubs to feel that they can have trust in their regulator."

Cliff claimed that the Premier League’s summary of the case was 'misleading' and contained 'several inaccuracies', which the top-flight have disputed, and Manchester City's general counsel declared all APT rules to be 'void'. The champions previously proclaimed that APTs have been found to be 'unlawful', but the Premier League insisted they will 'continue to operate the existing APT system, taking into account the findings made by the tribunal'.

So what do the experts think? Well, Nick De Marco, who previously represented Newcastle, Leicester City and other top-flight clubs in battles against the Premier League, felt it was no surprise that both sides claimed victory, but the 'truth was somewhere in between'. The KC added that the fact that even parts of the Premier League's APT rules have been declared unlawful was significant.

Another leading legal figure, Simon Leaf, who is a partner and head of sport at Mishcon de Reya, said the Premier League will 'undeniably be embarrassed by the findings', but he expected 'the majority of the APT regulations to remain intact'.