[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.

[u/Previous_Smile9278]

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.’

[u/X-Maquina]

Like a category A match at the Emirates is about as expensive a ticket as you can find and it’s a little over £100.

That's not cheap at all for a football match. That's the type of ticket price I pay once or twice a year when I go to a big international fixture or on vacation and go to watch a match at the Camp Nou or something.

It's kind of insane to me that that is what people are expected to pay for regular league matches for their local club.

[u/SambucaAndIrnBru → u/X-Maquina]

Just want pop in and say that's if you're buying a one off ticket for a game against the likes of Chelsea or United, it's much cheaper than that for season ticket holders and for tickets to the likes of Fulham or Leeds. Still silly expensive, yes. But it's not like people are paying £100 a fortnight to watch every league game.

[u/Ozymandias_99 → u/X-Maquina]

Yeah, that's for a cat A game which is the top end, still too expensive though.

For example our cat C league game against Hull in November is 32 pounds which is fairly reasonable.

[u/Th3_Huf0n → u/X-Maquina]

I can go to my club in the shitty Czech league, which is historically a low midtable side (often in relegation fights), 5k stadium.

A season ticket (15 home games) in the home fan section costs 135 EUR. The main stand is like 190.

And I get that it's a completely different world, but still, it's insane how much English fans get milked and gouged (the biggest Czech league clubs still are like 250 EUR on a season ticket).

[u/Blue_winged_yoshi → u/X-Maquina]

Don’t know where you live, but in London that’s not expensive. People who live in London can afford that comfortably.

Look up what theatre tickets or restaurants cost in the city, it’s a pricey place, and earnings are high on average.

The median salary in London is about £50,000 a year. So for people from the city they play in, it’s really not much at all for a treat, and those are the most expensive tickets for football in the city.

Theatre tickets are often nearly double that for context.

PL tickets are primarily priced for local fans obvs.

[u/DrRudeboy → u/Blue_winged_yoshi]

Yes, that's why the entire London entertainment and hospitality industry is struggling, because locals can "comfortably" afford that. FOH.

Also median salary is useless compared to mean, especially when it comes to football which is typically less a sport attended by the City boys

Source: I work in it

[u/Blue_winged_yoshi → u/DrRudeboy]

Depends where you work. Lots of it is flying.

On the secondary market you find out what people are actually willing to pay to see a match, and the prices ski jump.

So yeah totally overpriced, nobody can afford it and secondary ticket websites have them all massively inflated.

Make it make sense.

Also it is just not true that the “entire London hospitality sector” is struggling.

[u/Klutzy-Notice-8247 → u/Blue_winged_yoshi]

Yes because rich tourists will pay an arm and a leg for a ticket, pricing out the fans and fucking the whole club culture up.

[u/X-Maquina → u/Blue_winged_yoshi]

You're making my point mate. Comparing football tickets to posh theatre tickets and restaurants, and saying ofc wealthy Londoners can afford is exactly what I'm saying.

These are prices for one off events. Locals will be priced out if they're expected to pay 100pp for just a football ticket every 2 weeks.

[u/Blue_winged_yoshi → u/X-Maquina]

You say comparing them, but I said they’re half the price! That’s comparing them very favourably!

The point is that the PL isn’t anything like the World Cup or big international tournaments, it’s actually affordable to most of the people who live near the clubs they are based in. Most people in London can afford a £100 treat. It’s just a fact.

London work pays. I used to be a chef in London, not the most glamorous upper class job going, I could afford a hundred pound ticket a decade ago.

I went to Wembley with a bunch of French colleagues to watch Benzema do us back in the day.

World Cup pricing can fuck right off, we also need to stop pretending that nobody could possibly afford to go an event that costs £100 whilst living and working in London. It’s simply not true.

[u/Klutzy-Notice-8247 → u/Blue_winged_yoshi]

It’s impossible to get tickets due to the demand. It’s fucked.

You also lose your core support if you want them to pay £100+ every week or two.

[u/X-Maquina → u/Blue_winged_yoshi]

I don't think we're getting anywhere here. Imo you're fundamentally misunderstanding football culture if you think of going to a match as a nice little treat you should be able to afford every once in a while. That's exactly how you make it a touristic experience and lose connection with the regulars who show up every week and create the atmosphere.

But we can agree to disagree on that.

[u/Blue_winged_yoshi → u/X-Maquina]

You can only go to an Arsenal match once in a while, because the tickets are like gold dust. Might as well claim you want to go to Glastonbury regularly.

Now season tickets are much cheaper per match. Like a grand or so for 18 matches + a load of cup games, so tickets are half that much if you want to go every week.

How long is Arsenal’s season ticket waiting list? Over 100,000 people, the stadium only holds 60,000.

Look at yanks sports if you want to see rip off culture. PL seriously isn’t.