The financial misconduct case involving Manchester City has taken a diplomatic turn after the United Arab Emirates reportedly threatened to withdraw billions of pounds in investment from the United Kingdom.
The warning was issued in response to the ruling against the club, which is owned by an Emirati fund, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The newspaper reported that Abu Dhabi had warned UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham about the potential consequences of the case. Manchester City is preparing to appeal against the decision of an independent Premier League commission, which found the club guilty of 114 financial breaches between 2009 and 2018.
The latest developments follow concerns expressed by Burnham, the former Mayor of Greater Manchester, that the UAE could decide to sell Manchester City after the verdict.
The UK government later insisted that no team was “above the law”.
Investment fears
The investment at risk is linked to private investment projects and funds being used by the UK government to develop a technology hub between Oxford and Cambridge, the Telegraph said.
London has described the project as an ambitious attempt to create a technology centre capable of competing with Silicon Valley.
The report also said Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Manchester City chairman, met Jonathan Reynolds, the Minister of State for Trade, two weeks before the Premier League published details of the case.
According to the Telegraph, Al Mubarak was aware at that stage that the club had been found guilty, although the details of the decision had not yet been made public.
Manchester City’s planned appeal creates a new phase in a dispute that began as a sporting and legal matter before its effects reached the economic relationship between the UAE and the UK.