Albion fans have been told what the latest ruling involving Manchester City and the Premier League will mean for their club – and Tony Bloom.

Two aspects of the associated party transaction (APT) rules were deemed unlawful by a tribunal under challenge by City.

The tribunal ruled that shareholder loans should not be excluded from the scope of APT rules.

Albion owner Bloom has backed the club financially with an interest-free, unsecured loan.

He is understood to be in no hurry to be repaid although the club started that process after posting a big profit for the 2022-23 season.

That repayment of £33 million left the outstanding loan to Bloom at £373 million as at June 30, 2023.

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire told The Argus the tribunal decision had “no impact at present” on Albion and Bloom.

He added: “However, if there is a vote to charge interest on owner loans for PSR purposes then would hit Brighton by £25 million to £35 million a year.

“Tony Bloom could write off the loans by converting them into shares which would make this cost disappear.”

The BBC reported that, in the arbitration process, Chelsea, Newcastle and Everton all acted as witnesses for City while witnesses for the Premier League included Albion as well as Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and West Ham.

Brentford, Bournemouth, Fulham and Wolves wrote letters in support of the rules.

City launched a legal challenge to the APT rules earlier this year on the grounds that they breached competition law.

The APT rules are designed to ensure that commercial deals with entities linked to a club’s owners are done for fair market value and not artificially inflated.

City declared victory after the arbitration panel found the rules to be unlawful because they excluded shareholder loans.