The prime minister has addressed the unfolding scandal at Manchester City, who have been found guilty of 114 breaches of Premier League financial rules over a nine-year period
Andy Burnham, UK prime minister,
Andy Burnham has been asked about Manchester City's breaches of Premier League rules(Image: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Andy Burnham says he will keep his distance from the Manchester City scandal, but admitted he would be "really concerned" if the club's owners were forced out.
City have been found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges levelled against them by the Premier League. The independent commission found they had broken the league's financial rules, arranging "sham" contracts to disguise secret funding of more than £830million over a nine-year period.
City have continued to plead their innocence and plan to appeal against the verdict, but the Independent Football Regulator has now threatened to turn their attention to the "suitability" of the club's owners. It means that the Abu Dhabi United Group and Sheikh Mansour are now in the spotlight.
The story has escalated in recent days, going well beyond just football, and Burnham was asked his opinion in an interview with the BBC. The prime minister is an Everton fan and made a comparison with their six-point deduction for breaking the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
"I remember people proclaiming Everton guilty at the time, and you know, with hindsight, I think more people would say that wasn't fair the way that was handled," he said. "So it would be wrong of me to leap to one side given the experience that I'd had before becoming prime minister."
Burnham has another obvious link with the story, having previously been Mayor of Manchester, where he came into contact with City's owners. "I do actually thank the City Football Group and the wider ownership for the money that they didn’t just put into the Etihad and the campus around it but also into the city," he said.
He then added: "I would be really concerned to lose them. They've been such a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester. Obviously, the building of Manchester City into the global force that it is.
Sheikh Mansour, Owner of Manchester City and the City Football Group, and Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Chairman of Manchester City, Ferran Soriano, CEO of Manchester City, look on prior to the UEFA Champions League 2022/23 final match between FC Internazionale and Manchester City FC at Ataturk Olympic Stadium
Man City owner Sheikh Mansour (centre), chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak (right) and chief executive Ferran Soriano(Image: Getty)
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"I can't intervene more in the process. It would be wrong for me to do that. It would be wrong, I think, to jump to a conclusion before having really studied all of the detail, but obviously it's ongoing, and because it's still contested by Manchester City, then I think it's right that I don’t say much more."
After a lengthy process, City have been found guilty of all charges related to breaches of financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons. They have until October 2 to submit an official appeal and Burnham refused to be drawn on offering his opinion, given the process is likely to remain ongoing for much longer.
"I have to keep my distance from it," he said. "It would be wrong for me to do anything else. It's an independent legal process that has to play its course through.
"So for the reasons I gave at the start, you know, I was involved in one myself in relation to Everton. I think it's frustrating when people rush to judgment and proclaim people guilty. I think the thing has to be allowed to run its course."