Man City to argue Abu Dhabi government funded sponsorships in appeal
Manchester City will argue in their forthcoming appeal that key sponsorship payments were made by the Abu Dhabi government, not by the club’s owners, after an independent commission found the club guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules on Tuesday. The club has signalled an intent to lodge an appeal by Friday and has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
The commission’s investigation covered alleged breaches between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons and found Manchester City guilty of 114 of the 115 charges brought against them. City say the commission’s decision contains "clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe" and have indicated they will challenge the findings.
The commission concluded the club had used what it described as "sham" sponsorship agreements and that Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) had topped up the value of commercial deals as part of a "disguised funding scheme" to the scale of £830.69m. The report said those arrangements enabled the club to appear to comply with Premier League and Uefa financial rules.
Several media outlets, including the Daily Mail and the Times, first reported that City would tell the appeal board they possess evidence the funds directed to sponsors originated from the Abu Dhabi government rather than ADUG. The independent commission rejected that line of defence as "untrue" and stated: "We concluded that it was an 'explanation' that the club had concocted well after the event in an attempt to obscure and conceal the realities of the disguised funding scheme."
The club’s ownership background was set out in the commission material: ADUG is a private investment company belonging to Sheikh Mansour, who is a member of the Abu Dhabi ruling family and the brother of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and ADUG took over City in 2008. The report linked the top-ups by ADUG to the period under scrutiny.
City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has pointed to what he called "irrefutable evidence" that he claims supports the club's innocence. City have argued the commission’s published findings contain material mistakes and will advance their counter-evidence during the appeal process.
Etihad Airways, Manchester City's principal sponsor, said it was considering legal action against the Premier League and complained the release of the commission findings had "damaging implications…despite the airline not being named in the redacted published findings". The UAE's state-owned national airline added that "it categorically rejects any finding, conclusion or implication that suggests the airline has ever been involved in improper commercial arrangements"; the article states Etihad is owned by sovereign wealth fund L'Imad which is chaired by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, the son of the UAE president. The Premier League declined to comment when contacted by BBC Sport.
City have signalled they will take their case to an appeal board by Friday and are expected to present evidence asserting that the sponsorship funds came from the Abu Dhabi government rather than from ADUG.