Andy Burnham’s Manchester City comments renew tensions over Premier League ruling

Andy Burnham’s comments about Manchester City’s owners have renewed tensions over the Premier League’s financial rules case, the Guardian reported on Thursday, 1 October. Speaking after an independent commission found the Manchester club guilty of serious breaches, Burnham said he would be concerned if its owners were forced to sell. The Guardian reported unease among government officials and several Premier League clubs. No sanction or decision about the owners has been announced.

Burnham told interviewers on Wednesday he would be ‘really concerned’ if City’s owners were forced to sell, according to the Guardian. He also said he could not intervene further in a process that could be appealed. His remarks addressed a possible consequence for the club’s ownership; the commission’s findings have not themselves ordered a sale.

Why Burnham’s comments have drawn concern

The Guardian reported that government officials were unhappy they had not been warned the commission’s judgment would be published this week. It also reported concern among several Premier League clubs about Burnham’s relationship with City’s owners. Those officials and clubs were not named in the report, and the account does not amount to an on-record statement from either group. The newspaper said the Premier League did not intend to respond to Burnham’s remarks.

The timing added to the political sensitivity described by the Guardian. The Premier League published a redacted version of the commission’s decision on Tuesday, within hours of Burnham’s first keynote speech as Labour leader at the party conference. Burnham’s response followed in interviews the next day, bringing the ruling into a debate about political figures’ comments on an independent football disciplinary process.

What the Manchester City commission decided

The league said the commission found that sham commercial agreements formed part of a disguised funding scheme. According to its account, Abu Dhabi United Group, which owned City, funded portions of sponsorship fees that the commercial partners were not required to pay. Other arrangements allowed the club to record lower operating expenses. The league said the combined effect was to inflate revenue and reduce costs by more than £900 million over the affected period.

The commission found that City filed misstated accounts, concealed the true state of its finances from auditors and football regulators, and significantly breached Premier League and UEFA spending limits, according to the league’s statement. Premier League chief executive Richard Masters called it the most significant disciplinary case in the competition’s history and said the league wanted to move swiftly through the remaining process.

Burnham’s earlier dispute over Everton

Burnham’s criticism of the league has a precedent. The Guardian recalled that, as Greater Manchester mayor in November 2023, he accused the Premier League of an ‘abuse of process’ over its treatment of Everton. He argued that Everton was being used as a pawn in arguments about whether English football needed an independent regulator. Everton’s initial 10-point deduction was subsequently reduced to six on appeal.

The Guardian said Everton had admitted a breach of profitability and sustainability rules, while contesting the extent of the breach and the sanction. Burnham returned to that dispute on Wednesday, saying he still believed Everton had not been treated fairly. His Everton criticism helps explain the latest reaction, but it does not change the findings the independent commission has made in City’s case.

What happens next in City’s case

The Premier League says an independent commission will decide City’s sanction at a separate hearing, which will remain private under league rules until publication is permitted. Its statement gives the club until Friday, 2 October, to appeal the findings. The league says it intends to conclude the full process, including any appeals and publication of relevant decisions, as soon as possible; it has not supplied a date for a sanction decision.

The Guardian reported that City’s disciplinary fate rests with the independent commission and that the Independent Football Regulator could separately assess whether owners are suitable to continue running the club. It quoted regulator chief executive David Kogan saying the body was monitoring the case and had powers to assess the suitability of owners, directors and executives where there was clear evidence of individual wrongdoing. That is a description of possible regulatory scrutiny, not an announced decision against City’s owners.