Andy Burnham has been accused of potentially applying "political pressure" in the Manchester City saga because of the owner's investments in Manchester. The Prime Minister has said he "would be really concerned" if Manchester City's owners sell the club following the guilty verdict for breaching Premier League financial rules.
The Prime Minister, a former mayor of Greater Manchester, on Wednesday thanked the club's holding company City Football Group for the money it had invested into Manchester and said he would not want them to stop owning the Premier League club.
Shadow minister's criticism
But Shadow Sport Minister Louie French MP said: "Andy Burnham's intervention in support of Manchester City's owners is frankly extraordinary."
Mr French said: "The club face unprecedented allegations and fans are horrified by what they are reading in the papers. Yet Burnham is publicly backing the owners even as the investigation continues. Fans will rightly ask whether political pressure is being applied here and how it relates to the owners' well-reported investments in Manchester.
"Football must be governed independently, with the rules applying equally to everyone. Fans deserve confidence that no club or owner is above those rules. Burnham's comments are therefore completely out of touch with fans and the wider public.
"The Government must keep politics out of football and ensure the Premier League's independent commission can do its job free of outside influence."
Regulator and sponsor reactions
Mr Burnham's comments came after the chair of the Independent Football Regulator said the Premier League's ruling "raises serious issues" and pointed out the body has the power to assess the suitability of club owners and executives once proceedings come to a close, with City having already indicated their intention to appeal.
City's main sponsor Etihad Airways released a statement on Wednesday saying it was assessing its legal options following an independent commission's ruling.
That commission had concluded City "clearly intended to circumvent Premier League rules" by inflating revenue and hiding costs through a series of "sham" commercial deals over a nine-season period.
Burnham's response
But when Mr Burnham was asked by the BBC if he was worried about the club being sold, he said: "I would be really concerned to lose them.
"They've been such a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester. Obviously, the building of Manchester City into the global force that it is."
Asked if all his dealings with Manchester City while he was mayor will stand up to scrutiny, he said: "Oh indeed. I do actually thank the City Football Group and the wider ownership for the money that they didn't just put into the Etihad and the campus around it but also into the city, but yes of course."
Mr Burnham said he is "not getting directly involved in the process", adding: "I have to keep my distance from it. It would be wrong for me to do anything else. It's an independent legal process that has to play its course through...There's a lot at stake. Let's be honest about that, for the football club, for city supporters, for the city of Manchester."
The club were found by the Premier League's commission to have operated a "disguised funding scheme" whereby companies from Abu Dhabi paid a fraction of the sum recorded on the club's books, with the balance settled by Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), the company through which Sheikh Mansour owns the club.
That scheme was found to have inflated revenue by more than £830million between 2009-10 and 2017 to 18.
Labour has been contacted for comment.
