But the fact is it was the independent commission that found City guilty of “artificially inflating their revenues by £900m through “sham” sponsorship contracts that were secretly funded by the owners, the Abu Dhabi United Group.”
And it is true that Etihad has been the shirt sponsor for years, but the airline is still a state-owned part of the UAE and the main shirt sponsor and more recently the ground sponsor. Although we are told now that “Etihad categorically rejects” any idea that it has “ever been involved in improper commercial arrangements. The Premier League’s public communication of the commission’s findings, following a period of selective leaks and reporting, has further created damaging implications for Etihad despite the airline not being named in the redacted published findings.”
Now to me, a total non-lawyer, that sounds like a preliminary to Etihad suing the Premier League not least for issuing an “opinion” as fact in relation to an organisation that was never named.
That in turn looks like it could be a way to put the whole issue into a court case that doesn’t stop the Mancs carrying on as now.
Now I must be clear here – I am just running a blog expressing my thoughts – I have no influence and no legal background or inside knowledge, and if I have got anything wrong in my rather vague and roundabout reviews, I will of course publish any response and clarification from other parties at once while saying as loud as possible, “I AM NOT AN EXPERT NOR A FOLLOWER OF ANY RELIGION.” Wat I am writing here is what I think I have understood – it is of course up to you to judge if I am on the right tracks or not – as indeed with every other blog that ventures into this arena.
Anyway it seems the Mancs have got a bit worked up about things as they are now saying that, “Etihad is deeply concerned by the way this matter has been communicated publicly. The lack of clarity and transparency, together with the selective disclosure of information, has created damaging implications for Etihad despite the airline not being named in the published decision. The Premier League must take responsibility for the consequences of the way in which these findings have been presented.”
This takes us onto the freedom of the press and individual commentators like me, to talk about ongoing events which are not actually as yet matters being heard in court. I rather feel my right to discuss such matters is pretty much a fundamental part of my rights as a UK citizen.
You see as I understand things, there is no on-going court case at the moment, so we are perfectly free to discuss what seems an interesting case. No one can reasonably see Untold as anything other than the opinion of a few supporters following with interest matters in that affect the club we support. So I do hope no one suggests we shouldn’t be having our say, at least until matters get to court – which now seems inevitable (but again that’s just my opinion.)