Manchester City being found guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules now reportedly has the United Arab Emirates retaliating against the United Kingdom
Andy Burnham
Andy Burnham have already spoken about the Manchester City guilty verdict(Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)
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The United Arab Emirates are reportedly threatening to pull billions of pounds in potential investment for the Oxford-Cambridge "corridor" project after Manchester City were found guilty by an independent commission.
City's owner, Sheikh Mansour, is the UAE's deputy prime minister and vice president, with his brother, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ), being the incumbent. City chair Khaldoon Al Mubarak is the chief executive and managing director of one of Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth funds, Mubadala, which Mansour also chairs.
Al Mubarak is the public face of their ownership. He released a letter in response to media reporting last Friday.
City have since been found guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules over a nine-season period.
The club have appealed against the commission's decision, claiming it "contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe".
The Telegraph now reports that the UAE are warning Prime Minister Andy Burnham about retaliation for the guilty verdict. Lord Stockwood, the former Minister of State for Investment, is said to have sent a letter to Al Mubarak in February, inviting Mubadala officials and others from Abu Dhabi to visit their hi-tech hub Oxford-Cambridge scheme.
Manchester City Emirati chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak talks with Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham
Andy Burnham previously attended Manchester City matches while Greater Manchester Mayor and was seen talking with Khaldoon Al Mubarak (L)(Image: PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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An excerpt published by the newspaper reads: "Alongside Lord Vallance (then Minister of State for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear), I would like to invite your team and investment teams from your Abu Dhabi partners to visit our Oxford-Cambridge Corridor project.
"Across life sciences, infrastructure and technologies, there are clear synergies across our strategies, and we would be delighted to host the team."
Stockwood and Vallance are no longer ministers after the change of government, both being succeeded by Chris McDonald, who is now Minister of State for Science, Innovation and Investment. Al Mubarak himself reportedly met the Business Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, at Downing Street last month.
The Department for Business and Trade are insistent that they did not discuss the Man City hearing. However, Al Mubarak apparently knew their guilty verdict at the time and reportedly requested that they meet.
Downing Street are said not to be disputing reports that the independent commission's decision has "undermined" the UAE's "appetite for future grand-scale UK commitments". A No 10 spokesman clarified Burnham's comments on the verdict and also amended their own initial statement.
It reads in full: "As the Prime Minister made clear, the initial judgment is serious and there can't be any suggestion that anyone is above the rules. He also stressed that it is an ongoing independent process. It is essential that it is allowed to run its course and the outcome respected. Wherever wrongdoing is established, those responsible should face the appropriate consequences."
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