Andy Burnham took the question in Salford, not Whitehall. Speaking to ITV Granada Reports on Friday evening, hours after news broke of the guilty finding against Manchester City, the prime minister asked reporters not to leap to conclusions.
“I’ve only just been made aware of it. I think these are reports at this stage. But if they’re confirmed, obviously I will want to look at the report of the independent commission,” Burnham told the programme.
That caution has a history. Burnham was Mayor of Greater Manchester from 2017 until his move to Downing Street this past summer, and through most of those nine years he described Abu Dhabi’s investment in the east of the city, its stadium campus, its housing, its regeneration, as the engine that had lifted some of Manchester’s poorest districts. In July he met UAE president Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the older brother of Manchester City’s owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and has publicly called the emirate “huge partners” for the city.
Now the club at the centre of that investment stands convicted by an independent Premier League commission of breaking the rules that keep the competition fair.
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Nandy: investors are not rule-makers
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy did not wait. On BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday, the day after the verdict was reported, she told the Premier League to bring the case to a close and drew a hard line on how much say foreign owners get in English football.
“We welcome investment to English football from all over the world. But the rules of the game are not set by investors,” Nandy said.
“Investors are custodians of our football clubs, and they have a responsibility to uphold the rules of the game.”
She also warned that supporters “need to know that the rules are fair, that they’re consistently applied, and believe in the integrity of the game”, and demanded a resolution “relatively quickly”.
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Sheikh Mansour is also a deputy prime minister
The awkwardness sits above football. Sheikh Mansour is Manchester City’s principal owner, but he is also deputy prime minister and vice president of the UAE. His older brother Mohamed bin Zayed is the country’s president, and City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak runs the emirate’s sovereign wealth vehicle Mubadala Investment Co.
That gives any UK response a diplomatic weight, not just a sporting one. UK-UAE bilateral trade runs at $31.8 billion a year, Semafor reported, adding that diplomats and analysts expect both governments to work to contain political fallout from the verdict. Al Mubarak has written to City supporters pledging to challenge the ruling.
Burnham holds his position
Back in Salford, Burnham stayed with the caution he had shown when the case was still in front of the panel.
“People shouldn’t jump to those kind of conclusions,” Burnham said.
“I think we would all need to study the independent commission’s report in some considerable detail before reaching any conclusions.”
Manchester City have 14 days from the decision to lodge an appeal, which is expected. Sanctions, which under Premier League rules can include fines, points deductions, expulsion or the annulment of previous titles, would be decided by the same independent panel if the verdict stands.
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