Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been accused by the Conservatives of being “completely out of touch” over his comments on Manchester City’s breach of Premier League financial rules. The Tories described his remarks as “frankly extraordinary” after Burnham said on Wednesday he would be “really concerned” if the club’s owners decided to sell up.
Burnham spoke after City were found guilty by an independent commission of most of the 115 charges they faced. The panel found that City arranged “sham contracts” with a number of commercial partners as part of a scheme to disguise secret funding of more than £830m. The Premier League said City “systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade”. City deny any wrongdoing and have until Friday to submit an appeal.
In an interview with the BBC’s political editor Chris Mason, Burnham said he was “not getting directly involved in the process” and that “this has to be a process undertaken independently by the Premier League”. He said the situation was “contested by Manchester City” and it would be “wrong” to “jump to a conclusion”.
Asked whether he was worried the club’s owners since 2008 – led by Sheikh Mansour, a royal and the United Arab Emirates deputy prime minister – might sell up, Burnham said: “I would be really concerned to lose them. 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.”
On Thursday, shadow minister for sport Louie French called for the government to “keep politics out of football and ensure the Premier League’s independent commission can do its job free of outside influence”. The Tory MP said the club faced “unprecedented allegations” and that “fans are horrified by what they are reading in the papers”. He added: “Yet Burnham is publicly backing the owners even as the investigation continues. Fans will rightly ask whether political pressure is being applied here and how it relates to the owners’ well-reported investments in Manchester. Football must be governed independently, with the rules applying equally to everyone. Fans deserve confidence that no club or owner is above those rules.”
A No 10 spokesperson said: “As the prime minister made clear, the initial judgement is serious and there can’t be any suggestion that anyone is above the rules. 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. If wrongdoing is established, those responsible should face the appropriate consequences.”
Burnham also said he was “of course” confident that his own interactions with City’s owners while he was mayor of Greater Manchester would stand up to scrutiny. He compared City’s situation to how Everton, the club he supports, had been charged with a more minor breach of Premier League financial rules in 2023, but said he holds the view “very firmly that they weren’t fairly treated in that process”.
The independent panel that found City guilty of rule breaches will hold a sanctions hearing – which could take months to convene – to decide the punishment, which could include a huge fine or points deduction. City can appeal both the guilty verdicts and the sanction, leaving the club and the Premier League in a state of chaos and uncertainty. City have said they are “both disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League Commission” and maintained their innocence of all the accusations made.
David Kogan, chairman of the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) – set up by the government in 2025 – said the case had raised “serious issues”. He said the IFR “has powers to assess the suitability of owners, directors and executives and we will use these powers where appropriate”, while “taking account of the findings made by the Leagues”. He added that proceedings remain ongoing and he hoped for a quick resolution.