Manchester City
Government stance hardens as Manchester City case moves toward appeal
The U.K. government says the regulator must decide Manchester City’s fate, without political interference.
The U.K. government has made clear it will not stand in the way if Manchester City’s ownership is ultimately forced to sell the club, should the Independent Football Regulator decide that is the correct outcome in the case.
That position sits in contrast to the more cautious tone of Andy Burnham, who has found it difficult to condemn Manchester City. In his former role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, a post he held from 2017 until this past summer, he welcomed the wider impact of Abu Dhabi investment across the city, not only at the club itself.
Even after the guilty verdict, which referred to “sham” contracts used to disguise owner investment and increase spending beyond the rules, Burnham said he would be “really concerned” if Sheikh Mansour were required to sell. “They’ve been such a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester and building Manchester City into the global force that it is.”
The government, however, is taking a firmer line. Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, said investors are welcome but must accept their responsibilities.
“I want to be crystal clear that, whilst we are really grateful to investors who come from all over the world to invest in our clubs and help to ensure their viability and their success, they are custodians, both of their clubs and of the game,” she told talkSPORT.
“They have a responsibility to play by the rules and uphold the rules.”
The case is now moving to appeal, and the government says it will not interfere. Nandy said the focus must remain on protecting integrity and putting supporters first.
“That is the right and proper role governing, it’s to protect that integrity and put the fans back at the heart of football where they belong,” she added. “That’s what we’ve done with the Football Governance Act and the Independent Regulator, and it’s now for football to step up and make a determination in this case, and really meet this moment.”
She added that if the allegations are upheld, the Independent Football Regulator could investigate ownership and, in the most serious scenario, compel the owners to go if they are not fit to run the club.
“We’re not there yet. It’s absolutely right that Manchester City get the right to defend themselves and they do strongly refute the allegations. But in the event that they do not believe that a club is in safe hands, we’ve fought tooth and nail to give the Independent Regulator the power.”
Despite concern that relations between the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates could influence the process, there appears to be little appetite for any intervention. The regulator, led by David Kogan, is said to be confident there will be no interference and will use the full extent of its power if needed.
Aston Villa
Premier League Gameweek 7 predictions: Chelsea tested at Everton, Leeds host Manchester United
Gameweek 7 brings Chelsea to Everton, Liverpool to Brentford, and Manchester United to Leeds on a busy weekend.
A fresh round of Premier League action arrives with Gameweek 7 beginning in Merseyside and ending in north London, and there should be no shortage of movement across the weekend’s fixtures.
Chelsea open the slate at Everton after a commanding 5-1 win over Bournemouth, a result Xabi Alonso described as a “complete performance” from his side. Jordan Henderson’s brace, along with goals from João Pedro and Morgan Rogers, has added to the sense that Chelsea are building momentum. Everton, though, have not lost in the league so far and remain difficult to beat at home, even if their recent record in this fixture favours the visitors only narrowly.
Liverpool travel to Brentford after a high-scoring midweek outing against LASK, while Manchester City will look to answer their own recent setback when Ipswich visit. Newcastle, meanwhile, face an Aston Villa side that appears to be settling after a mixed start, and Fulham meet Hull in a game that could be stubborn rather than open.
The south coast brings another notable contest as Bournemouth and Sunderland both come in after Thursday European wins. Brighton also return home after a convincing continental outing, although Crystal Palace’s strong league form means that match may be tighter than the table suggests.
Sunday’s headline fixture takes Leeds against Manchester United. United remain under scrutiny after a difficult start, and Elland Road is not the sort of venue that offers easy relief. Leeds have already shown enough resilience to suggest they can make life awkward again.
At the City Ground, Arsenal face a Nottingham Forest side that has made a habit of frustrating them on home soil. Forest have only one league win so far, but the numbers behind them suggest they are not far off a better return.
Tottenham close the round against Coventry, with the visitors arriving in confident mood after consecutive wins. Spurs are still searching for rhythm, but this looks like a chance to impose control if they can settle quickly.
Manchester City
MLS Rules Out Investigation Into NYCFC After Manchester City Verdict
MLS has ruled out an NYCFC investigation after Manchester City’s financial breach verdict.
Major League Soccer has made clear that New York City FC will not face its own investigation after Manchester City were found guilty of breaching financial regulations.
The link between the two clubs is well established. Manchester City were bought in 2008 by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, while City Football Group was created in 2013 to expand the ownership model and add more teams. NYCFC became the first club to join that structure and entered MLS as an expansion side in 2015.
That connection prompted questions about whether MLS would examine NYCFC in the wake of City’s case, especially with Andrew Widdowson having served as City’s financial director during the period in which the Premier League club broke its financial rules. Widdowson is now NYCFC chief financial officer, though the two clubs operate with separate executive boards.
For MLS commissioner Don Garber, there was no suggestion that the league would follow City’s case into NYCFC’s affairs. Speaking at the Front Office Sports Tuned In summit on Wednesday, he said MLS is focused on how clubs comply with its own rules, and not on their ownership groups’ conduct in other competitions.
“We’re fortunate we have owners in our league that own multiple teams throughout every league,” Garber said at the Front Office Sports Tuned In summit on Wednesday. “We have [Colorado Rapids owner] Stan Kroneke owning Arsenal, and we have owners that own teams in Spain, in Italy, throughout the rest of the world.
“MLS is looking at how owners act in accordance with our rules here in Major League Soccer. I will say that what NYCFC has done through their own ownership, the City Football Group and investing in our league, building a great team in NYCFC, building an MLS NEXT Pro stadium in New Jersey and obviously their stadium that will open up in Queens is something we’re thankful for and appreciative of.
“But we’re not in the business of looking at what our team owners do in other leagues, and frankly, I don’t think any league would view what other owners do when they have multiple investments throughout other sports.
“The concept of multiple-team ownership is something that we all live through, manage through, and we have our own governance as it relates to what their behavior is.”
Manchester City
Kogan sets out expected timeline for Manchester City appeal
Kogan says the City case should be heard by January, with a ruling expected early next year.
The head of England’s Independent Football Regulator says the Manchester City case is expected to be resolved before the end of the season, with a decision timetable already in place.
David Kogan, the IFR chief, told Times Radio: “My understanding is there is a prescribed process, which is 12 weeks, and so people are assuming this will actually be heard by the middle or the end of January.”
He added: “It’s not [the IFR’s] process, it’s that of the Premier League’s independent commission. What I don’t think we can do is take any judgment until we’re quite clear.
“Obviously, City claim that they have some form of silver bullet to put off these charges and win the appeal, and we’re not there to judge whether that’s right or wrong yet, but I think we’ll know in the early part of next year.”
If the first appeal fails, City could in theory continue to challenge the original verdict, although any further step would need legal grounds and those grounds would narrow with each stage. Given the club’s repeated denial of wrongdoing, it appears unlikely that a failed appeal leading to sanctions would be accepted without further resistance.
Separate from any punishment handed down by the independent commission, the IFR would also have the power to end Sheikh Mansour’s stewardship of Manchester City if a guilty verdict stands. As Kogan set out in an IFR statement on Sept. 30, that would happen if his ownership was no longer considered “suitable” in the interests of “protecting the sustainability, honesty and integrity” of English soccer, and where there is “clear evidence of wrongdoing by individuals.”
The wider political backdrop has also drawn attention, with the ownership’s relationship with U.K. prime minister Andy Burnham and any possible influence on the process coming under scrutiny. There are concerns about strained relations between the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates, given Sheikh Mansour’s role as a senior politician and member of the royal family in the Gulf nation.
Burnham, formerly the Mayor of Greater Manchester, has been cautious in discussing the guilty verdict while remaining complimentary about the economic impact of UAE investment in east Manchester. At the end of September, he said he would be “really concerned to lose them,” and also stated: “They’ve been such a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester and obviously the building of Manchester City into the global force that it is,” and “I do actually thank the City Football Group and the wider ownership for the money that they didn’t just put into the Etihad [Stadium] and the campus around it but also into the city.”
His concern could be seen as a potential source of government pressure, but Kogan and the IFR seem confident it will not become an issue.
