Andy Burnham slammed for ‘tone deaf’ Man City statement after Prime Minister shared ‘concern’ at losing Abu Dhabi owners who have ‘been a huge partner in building modern Manchester’
Andy Burnham’s claim that he would be ‘really concerned’ if Manchester City’s owners were to sell the club after it was found guilty of serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations has been hit by widespread criticism.
The Prime Minister made the comments following confirmation from the league that Man City had been found to have created a slew of ‘sham’ deals and contracts which misled the Premier League over £900million-plus in sponsorship deals over a nine-year period.
The Premier League’s chief executive Richard Masters stated that the club had ‘systematically broken’ the rules for nearly a decade and called the decision by the Independent Commission who heard the case ‘the most significant in Premier League history’.
Since confirmation of the decision broke on Tuesday evening, there have been calls for Man City to face relegation, fines, and even expulsion from the top flight, as well as arguments that the Abu Dhabi ownership group should move on – but former mayor of Manchester Burnham took a more hesitant tone and lingered on the investment they had made into both the club and the city.
Those on social media were quick to suggest that his comments could likely interfere with the process of both Man City’s appeal and potential future sanctions if the charges are upheld.
Stan Collymore suggested that Burnham’s ‘concern’ was ‘tone deaf’, highlighting the ‘clunky’ comments as an example of the power of sports-washing.
Andy Burnham (with Man City chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak in 2019) has been criticised for comments made on his ‘concern’ that the club’s ownership might sell
‘For a PM, the day after a judgement by a respected panel to say ‘we can’t afford to lose City Group, they’ve put a lot into Manchester’ is missing the point so widely that he’s now going to be tagged as taking a side or grossly naïve,’ he wrote in a lengthy post on X. ‘Neither things people will readily vote for.’
Rio Ferdinand added that he thought Burnham was ‘on the back foot referencing Manchester City’, but other commenters on the site were more critical.
‘This is political interference,’ one wrote. ‘Already stating that he sees them as a positive influence and not wanting them gone. Unacceptable interference by influencing the (government’s Football) Regulator.’
Another added: ‘Absolutely disgusting statement from the PM. He’s basically saying you can cheat the system all you want if you pay enough. Just shows what sort of morals he really has’.
Green Party deputy leader Mothin Ali also weighed in, saying: ‘Andy Burnham’s comments are staggering, just one day after saying people should come before profit, he sides with big money over the integrity of a sport that belongs to the people.
‘It’s a shame the prime minister appears to agree there should be one rule for the rich and one for everyone else.’
Burnham’s comments did attract praise from one corner of social media, with Man City supporter and Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher writing: ‘There’s only 1 ANDY BURNHAM’.
Burnham, whose mayoral tenure in Greater Manchester began three years after the 2014 deal struck between Manchester Council and the Abu Dhabi United Group worth £1billion promising a regeneration of city centre districts New Islington and Ancoats, had stressed in his remarks that he was unable to ‘intervene’ in the ongoing case.
Speaking at the home of his side Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, he said: ‘I would be really concerned to lose (Man City’s Abu Dhabi owners).
‘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.
‘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.’
‘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’.
In 2023 when charges were first brought against Man City, Abu Dhabi warned the United Kingdom that a negative outcome might damage relations with the country.
Man City have until October 2 to appeal the verdict, and Evertonian Burnham added that he did not want to assume guilt, as some had done in the wake of the Toffees’ own sanctions in 2023.
Burnham was speaking one day on from his appearance at the Labour Party Conference
‘Everton was in this position a few years ago and you might remember that I fought for Everton in that situation because I still hold the view very firmly that they weren’t fairly treated in that process,’ he continued.
‘I remember people proclaiming Everton guilty at the time 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.’
Everton had fallen foul of the Premier League’s financial regulations and were charged and deducted 10 points, later reduced to six on appeal. But this was the scenario Man City seem to have been looking to avoid during the 2009-18 period scrutinised by the Independent Commission.
David Kogan, chairman of the Independent Football Regulator (IFR), stated that he had the powers to ‘assess the suitability of owners, directors and executive’ and that the body would look to use their powers to protect ‘the sustainability, honesty and integrity of English football.’
The IFR and the FA will assess the findings once the sanctioning and appeals process has been completed.
Man City continues to deny any wrongdoing, with chief executive Ferran Soriano stating in a video shared with the club’s staff that they were in possession of ‘irrefutable evidence’ of their innocence that could dispel the Premier League’s ‘conspiracy theory’ on appeal.
READ MORE: Inside Ferran Soriano’s role in Man City scandal: Premier League sources reveal how ‘aloof’ Spaniard ‘patronises’ other clubs, how his fingerprints are on key documents and why he left some Etihad staff feeling like outsiders
READ MORE: MAN CITY, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: When will they be punished? Can Premier League look at post-2018 accounts? Is anyone criminally liable? How much can rivals sue for? And what now for ex-City chief Omar Berrada? MIKE KEEGAN reveals all
