Andy Burnham’s intervention in the Manchester City debate has revived tensions between the Premier League and the prime minister, with government officials understood to be unhappy that they were not given notice the independent commission’s judgment of £900m of financial manipulation and “sham contracts” would be published this week. Burnham’s response has not gone down well with several Premier League clubs, which are concerned by his relationship with City’s owners.
The timing sharpened the awkwardness. The Premier League published a redacted 40-page version of the commission’s report on Tuesday, within hours of Burnham’s first keynote speech as leader at the Labour party conference.
In a series of interviews on Wednesday, Burnham said he would be “really concerned” if City’s owners were forced to sell after being found guilty of more than 100 breaches of financial rules, though he added that he could not “intervene more in the process”, which remains subject to appeal. City’s disciplinary fate lies in the hands of an independent commission, and pending its final judgment the owners’ suitability to remain running the club could be assessed by the Independent Football Regulator (IFR), with no role for the Premier League or the government.
Attention is already turning to City’s appeal. The Times and the Daily Mail have reported that it will be based on evidence the club claim proves their sponsorship deals were funded by the Abu Dhabi government rather than by the club, an argument the commission rejected as “untrue” at the first hearing. Paragraph 77 of the judgment states: “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.”
Burnham also revisited his previous criticisms of the Premier League over its prosecution of his club, Everton, for financial rule breaches. Everton were docked 10 points — reduced to six on appeal — by an independent commission three years ago. In November 2023, when mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham wrote to the Premier League chair, Alison Brittain, accusing the league of an “abuse of process” and claiming Everton were being used as “a pawn” in efforts to show an independent regulator was not required in football.
He made similar complaints on Wednesday despite Everton having admitted breaching profitability and sustainability rules, with the club contesting only the extent of the breach and sanction. “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,” Burnham said. “I still hold the view very firmly that they weren’t fairly treated in that process.”
The Premier League was unhappy with Burnham’s behaviour in 2023, particularly as his office posted on X two letters of complaint he sent to the league, but did not publicise the replies sent by Brittain explaining the competition’s financial regulations governance process. His apparent expression of sympathy for City, with a warning about jumping to conclusions and praise for the owners’ investment in Manchester, has also raised eyebrows at the Premier League, although it does not intend to respond.
The IFR’s chief executive, David Kogan, has made clear he will not tolerate political interference in his role, telling the Times last year that he would resign if he sensed government pressure. The City case has the potential to present an early test of his mettle and the IFR’s powers, given Burnham’s previous working relationship with the club’s owner, the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), and the £25bn annual UK-Abu Dhabi trading relationship. One of Burnham’s first calls after he succeeded Sir Keir Starmer in July was with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates and the ultimate owner of ADUG.
Kogan has confirmed the IFR is monitoring the case and has powers “to assess the suitability of owners, directors and executives” to protect “honesty and integrity of English football where there is clear evidence of wrongdoing by individuals”. City’s owners are unlikely to fall foul of the licensing system that will be introduced next season, however, because that is an assessment of financial sustainability and separate from the new owners, directors and senior executives test the IFR uses to examine honesty and integrity. The Premier League and the IFR declined to comment.