Andy Burnham has said he would be “really concerned” if the fallout from Manchester City’s financial-rule breaches ultimately resulted in the club’s owners being forced out.
The Greater Manchester mayor was speaking following publication of the independent commission’s findings against Man City, with attention now turning towards the club’s appeal, the eventual sanction and the separate role of the Independent Football Regulator.
Burnham has previously criticised aspects of the Premier League’s handling of financial cases and has again questioned what the wider consequences could mean for a club in his region.
Burnham raises concern over Man City ownership
Asked about the possibility of City’s ownership ultimately being affected by the findings, Burnham said he would be “really concerned” by such an outcome.
The comments come after the independent commission rejected City’s case on serious financial breaches stretching across a nine-season period.
Among the findings attracting attention was the commission’s conclusion that an explanation offered by City had been “concocted well after the event in an attempt to obscure and conceal the realities of the Disguised Funding Scheme”.
City reject the findings and continue to deny wrongdoing. They have until Friday 2 October to exercise their right to appeal.
Burnham’s intervention follows other political discussion surrounding the case. We previously looked at the debate around the Greater Manchester mayor’s involvement as the implications of the commission’s findings began to emerge.
He also referred to Everton during his latest comments, reiterating his long-standing belief that the Merseyside club were not treated fairly during their own PSR proceedings.
Independent Football Regulator monitoring developments
The potential ownership implications are separate from the Premier League’s disciplinary process.
Independent Football Regulator chief executive David Kogan has confirmed that the new watchdog is monitoring developments following the commission’s findings.
Kogan said the regulator has powers “to assess the suitability of owners, directors and executives”, with the relevant tests intended to protect the “honesty and integrity of English football where there is clear evidence of wrongdoing by individuals”.
That does not mean City’s owners have failed those tests, nor that an ownership change is currently being pursued.
Any action by the IFR would come through its own statutory framework and would be separate from the Premier League proceedings. City’s appeal against the commission findings and the subsequent question of sporting sanctions remain matters for the league’s independent judicial process.
City’s next immediate step concerns that appeal. Our latest legal update looks at the developing picture as the deadline approaches.
Burnham’s comments add a political voice to the discussion over what the commission’s findings could eventually mean beyond points deductions, fines or other sporting sanctions.
For now, however, there has been no finding by the Independent Football Regulator that City’s ownership is unsuitable and no process has been announced to force a change of ownership.
Full details of Burnham’s comments can be found in The Guardian’s report.
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