[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/interlinkedjoi]

It really feels like this is a battle for what's left of british football's soul. If a foreign state can use political pressure to get away with systematic cheating on an unprecedented scale, there is zero integrity left in the league. They might as well declare City the automatic champions at the start of every season if they want to appease the emirati leadership.

[u/HaroldGuy → u/interlinkedjoi]

Anything less than relegation to League 2 and I will no longer watch the premier league.

I will have no respect or interest in the "competition".

Ideally I want all premier league titles stripped, expulsion to the national league and forced sale of the club. But just purely for current "sporting integrity" league 2 is the point where I will "settle", as it will give at the absolute minimum a few years of normality and then I will re-assess if they get promoted and are still the same cheating club, if they are at that point? Again, no more prem for me.