The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has warned that it will halt billions of pounds of investment in the UK following Manchester City’s guilty verdict.
An independent commission has found that City, who were bought by Sheikh Mansour for £200 million in 2008, arranged ‘sham contracts’ and had been ‘relying on sham agreements to artificially inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs’.
City have been accused of artificially inflating the club’s commercial revenue by £830m between 2009 and 2018.
The Premier League is yet to announce City’s punishment but the club face the prospect of a significant points reduction, heavy fine or even expulsion from the division.
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City confirmed this week that the club have appealed the decision and continue to deny all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules.
It is estimated that the UAE has invested more than £30 billion into major UK sectors in the last five years alone.
However, Bloomberg reports that UAE officials ‘have warned the UK government that the severity of City’s punishment could undermine the nation’s appetite for future grand-scale UK commitments’.
Meanwhile, The Telegraph reports that the UAE is threatening to stop billions of pounds of private investment for a Silicon Valley-style technology hub located between Oxford and Cambridge.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he would be ‘really concerned’ to lose Manchester City’s owners.
‘They’ve been such a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester, and the building of Manchester City into the global force that it is,’ Burnham said.
‘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.
‘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.
‘Everton was in this position a few years ago and you might remember that I fought for Everton in that situation. I still hold the view very firmly that they weren’t fairly treated in that process. 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.’
In response to the criticism Burnham received for his comments on City, Downing Street said the PM had made clear ‘the initial judgement is serious and there can’t be any suggestion that anyone is above the rules’.
A No.10 spokesperson added: ‘He also stressed that it is an ongoing independent process. It is essential that it is allowed to run its course and the outcome respected.
‘Wherever wrongdoing is established, those responsible should face the appropriate consequences.’
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