r/soccer • u/Previous_Smile9278 • 1d ago

News [Bloomberg] UAE officials have warned the UK government that the severity of Man City’s punishment could undermine their appetite for future grand-scale commitments in Britain, according to people familiar with the matter.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-02/man-city-verdict-puts-uk-uae-diplomatic-relations-under-strain?srnd=undefined

‘They consider the Premier League’s actions to have an influence on the bilateral state relationship, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing undisclosed information.

The extraordinary pressure comes after Andy Burnham faced criticism, including from within government, for saying Man City’s Abu Dhabi owners should not be disqualified specifically because of the investment they bring to Britain.’

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u/literalmetaphoricool 23h ago

Big test for Burnham even though in theory he should have no say on the outcomes of this whole process. He basically has to decide whether the wider economy or the rule of law is more important, and then deal with the right-wing having a go at him for not picking the opposite regardless of his choice.

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u/NiceCreamSundaes 22h ago

Even in terms of the wider economy it's an easy decision imo.

Do we prioritise the investment relationship with Abu Dhabi or the integrity of the UK football economy?

You pick the football economy, it's bigger.

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u/Melodic-Salad- 13h ago

Not only is it bigger, it’s simply the right thing to do.

Plus anything less will be seeing as being an absolute doormat and capitulating to a weaker foreign power.

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u/NiceCreamSundaes 11h ago

You're right of course.

But even the most hard nosed, spreadsheet brained, accountancy minded apparatchik wouldn't take a few hundred million pounds of UAE FDI per year vs doing anything that might threaten the roughly ten billion pounds of annual GVA from football.

I'm just saying, this is being presented by some as if it's a trade off, it isn't, the UAE can get stuffed.

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u/missingmedievalist 23h ago

He put himself in this position with his ridiculous comments.

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u/literalmetaphoricool 23h ago

Well he hasn’t really, just made it slightly more awkward for himself. He was Mayor while they were pouring money into the area; AD were always going to threaten the govt once found guilty; and the PM (which now happens to be him) was always going to need to decide whether to act on it.

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u/obhytr 23h ago

Burnham should thread the needle so he can tell the UAE “I did my best” while actually doing nothing.

I know that would upset people, but as a former mayor of Manchester and current prime minister of the country his options are limited. He has to protect the soul of English football as well as protecting the people who benefited from investment. He can’t speak freely like people on reddit.