Man City’s major sponsor Etihad considers legal action against Premier League after claims the airline was at the centre of ‘sham’ sponsorship deals

Etihad Airways – the principal sponsor of Manchester City – is considering legal action against the Premier League after it was implicated in its bombshell ruling that the club breached its financial rules.

In an explosive statement, obtained by Daily Mail Sport, that further escalates the war dominating English football, the Abu Dhabi-based airline ruled to be at the centre of a series of ‘sham’ inflated sponsorship deals actually funded by City’s owners, says it ‘categorically rejects’ the findings of the competition’s commission and warns it is now seeking legal advice on next steps.

On Tuesday, the Premier League published the long-awaited, seismic verdict of an independent panel which stated that the club had disguised funding of more than £830million via a series of commercial deals between 2009 and 2018, when it won eight trophies. It found that of the £949.94m City claimed to have brought in, only £119.25m was legitimate, with the rest coming from owners the Abu Dhabi United Group and that in total it cooked the books to the tune of £900m.

While Etihad were not named in the judgement, it is the longstanding sponsor of City’s stadium, kit and training centre in a relationship with the club that stretches back to 2009. In 2011 it penned a £400m, 10-year deal that has since been extended.

City will appeal the devastating findings, in which they were found guilty on all substantive charges, and which could result in points deductions, relegation transfer bans. They have until Friday to do so.

But in another seismic development, state-owned Etihad – worth around $5billion – has now gone into battle.

They say that ‘at no time’ did the Premier League engage with them during the process and point out that they were never given a right of reply or an opportunity to ‘provide relevant information’.

They add that the ruling has ‘created damaging implications for Etihad’ and warn that the Premier League ‘must take responsibility for the consequences of the way in which these findings have been presented’.

The development came hours after Prime Minister Andy Burnham, the former mayor of Manchester, said he would be ‘really concerned to lose’ City’s owners, who have heavily invested in transforming areas of east Manchester close to the club’s stadium.

Football’s independent regulator, which has the power to kick out owners it deems unfit, said yesterday that the decision ‘raises serious issues’ and restated its powers to ‘assess the suitability of owners, directors and executives’, adding that it would ‘use these powers where appropriate’, while Burnham warned subsequently that it would be wrong to jump to conclusions.

An Etihad spokesperson said: ‘Etihad categorically rejects any finding, conclusion or implication that suggests the airline 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.

They added: ‘At no time did the Premier League reach out to or engage with Etihad in the process associated with the Commission’s opinion. Etihad was therefore never given the opportunity by the Premier League to be represented, to provide relevant information, or to ensure the accuracy and fairness of information relied upon in reaching conclusions that may now be interpreted as reflecting adversely on the airline.’

In what is clearly a warning to competition bosses, the statement went on: ‘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.’

The spokesperson reaffirmed the airline’s commitment to City which ‘remains strong’.

‘We stand with the Club, its supporters and our wider Etihad community as Manchester City challenges the Commission’s conclusions through the processes available to it,’ it added, before concluding: ‘Etihad will seek the relevant legal counsel on the options and recourse available to protect its interests.’

Earlier, Burnham had hailed City’s owners, who arrived in 2008.

‘They’ve been such a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester,’ he added. ‘‘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.’

‘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.’

Burnham, an avid Everton supporter, campaigned for his club when they fell foul of the Premier League’s spending rules in 2023-24.

‘I remember people proclaiming Everton guilty at the time,’ he said, ‘and with hindsight, I think more people would say that wasn’t fair the way that was handled. So it would be wrong of me to leap to one side given the experience that I’d had before becoming prime minister.’

The Premier League has been contacted for comment.