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Andy Burnham says he is “not directly involved in the process”. (Image: Getty)
Andy Burnham has been accused of potentially exerting “political pressure” in the Manchester City saga due to the owner’s investments in Manchester. The Prime Minister said he would be “really concerned” if Manchester City’s owners sell the club, following a guilty verdict for breaching the Premier League’s financial rules.
The Prime Minister, a former mayor of Greater Manchester, thanked the club’s holding company City Football Group for the money they had invested in Manchester and said he did not want them to stop the Premier League club. But shadow sports minister Louie French MP said: “Andy Burnham’s intervention in support of Manchester City’s owners is frankly extraordinary.”
Mr French said: “The club is facing endless allegations and fans are terrified by what they are reading in the papers. But Burnham is publicly supporting the owners even as the investigation continues. Fans will rightly ask if political pressure is being applied here and how it relates to the owners’ well-reported investments in Manchester.
“Football must be governed independently, with the rules applying equally to everyone. Fans deserve trust that no club or owner is above these rules. Burnham’s comments are therefore completely out of touch with fans and the wider public.
“The government must keep politics out of football and ensure that the Premier League’s independent commission can do its job free from outside influence.”
Mr Burnham’s comments came after the chairman of the Independent Football Regulator said the Premier League’s ruling “raises serious issues” and pointed out that the body has the power to assess the properties of club owners and executives when proceedings are concluded, with City already indicating their intention to appeal.
City’s main sponsor Etihad Airways released a statement on Wednesday saying it was assessing its legal options following a ruling by an independent commission.
That commission concluded City “clearly intended to circumvent the rules of the Premier League” by inflating income and hiding costs through a series of “sham” commercial deals over a nine-season period.
But when Mr Burnham was asked by the BBC if he was worried about selling the club, he said: “I would be really worried about losing them.
“They have been such a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester. Obviously, the building of Manchester City into the global force that it is.”
Asked if all his dealings with Manchester City would be scrutinized while he was mayor, he said: “Oh, really. I actually thank the City Football Group and the wider owners for the money they’ve put into not only the Etihad and the campus around it, but also the city, but yes of course.
Mr Burnham said he was “not directly involved in the process”, adding: “I have to keep my distance from it. It would be wrong for me to do anything else. It is an independent legal process which has to run its course…
The club was found by the Premier League Commission to have operated a “hidden financing scheme” where companies from Abu Dhabi paid a fraction of the sum recorded on the club’s books, with the balance from Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), the company through which Sheikh Mansour owns the club.
This scheme was found to have inflated revenue by more than £830 million between 2009-10 and 2017 to 18.
Labor has been contacted for comment.
