Manchester City's appeal against an independent commission's guilty verdict over Premier League financial breaches could be seriously undermined by a statement made to the United States government by their principal sponsor, Etihad Airways, according to PA.
At the heart of the club's defence will be a claim that government funding, channelled through the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court (CPC), provided financial assistance to emirate-based sponsors to help them meet their obligations to City, rather than to Sheikh Mansour's Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), the company that owns the club.
Yet this argument appears to directly contradict evidence submitted by Etihad to a 2015 Department of Commerce, Transportation and State investigation into state-owned airlines.
Etihad's statement to US government
Documents from the hearing record Etihad stating: "The assertion that the Abu Dhabi government paid for Etihad's sponsorship of English Premier League football club Manchester City is false. In 2011, Etihad and Manchester City entered into a 10-year sponsorship agreement, which included naming rights for Manchester City's stadium."
"Etihad funded this sponsorship from its own liquidity. We are and have always been clear that we do not receive any subsidies from the Abu Dhabi government."
Manchester City were found guilty by an independent commission of all but one of the charges brought against them by the Premier League. The club was found guilty of operating a scheme to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs by nearly £1billion across a nine-season period.
Whistleblower Rui Pinto fearing for his life
The man behind the hack into Manchester City's accounts, Rui Pinto, claims he's now fearing for his life after receiving death threats as a result of the case against the Premier League outfit.
In a post on X, he said: "On Wednesday, just hours after the verdict officially confirming Manchester City’s guilt, the Commission responsible for Portugal's witness protection programme informed me of its decision to terminate my participation in the programme and withdraw my police protection, thereby knowingly placing me in a life-threatening situation."
"Given these circumstances, I have no alternative but to relocate, within the next few days, to an undisclosed location for an indefinite period of time, due to the multiple death threats I have received and the serious risk of an assassination attempt against me."
"For this reason, I have just set up a GoFundMe campaign and I am asking for everyone's support to help me survive this serious situation created by the Portuguese State, which, as I have already stated, has knowingly decided to place my life at risk."
"I would like to take this opportunity to extend a special thanks to everyone who continues to support Football Leaks, and I can give everyone one guarantee: the fight will most certainly continue!"
Pinto, who is set to lose his witness protection, has launched a GoFundMe page to fund his move to a secret location with a goal of reaching £2.5m. The Guardian also claim that he is ready to help authorities in the UK with their legal case in exchange for protection from threats.
Burnham concern and UAE threat
Prime Minister Andy Burnham says he would be really concerned if Man City's owners were forced out of the club. Speaking to the BBC, 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."
After making that statement, it is alleged that the UAE threatened to pull billions of pounds in potential investment for the Oxford-Cambridge "corridor" project. That's according to The Telegraph, who claim the UAE are warning the Prime Minister about retaliation for the guilty verdict.
Lord Stockwood, the former Minister of State for Investment, is said to have sent a letter to Al Mubarak in February, inviting Mubadala officials and others from Abu Dhabi to visit their hi-tech hub Oxford-Cambridge scheme.
An excerpt published by the newspaper reads: "Alongside Lord Vallance (then Minister of State for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear), I would like to invite your team and investment teams from your Abu Dhabi partners to visit our Oxford-Cambridge Corridor project."
"Across life sciences, infrastructure and technologies, there are clear synergies across our strategies, and we would be delighted to host the team."
Appeal lodged
Manchester City have lodged an appeal against the independent panel's findings on breaches of the Premier League's financial rules. The English top flight released an official statement on Tuesday afternoon, confirming that the club had been found guilty on the majority of the charges they were slapped with in 2023.
A statement read: "An independent Commission has found Manchester City FC guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation."
City had the option to appeal the decision up until Friday, October 2 - with the club now confirming that they have done so. A statement from the club read: "Manchester City Football Club can confirm that at 7pm on Thursday 1st October 2026 the Club lodged its comprehensive Appeal against the opinion of the Premier League Commission, in relation to the Premier League disciplinary matter."
The commission ruled against City on every count of breaching financial regulations between 2009-10 and 2017-18, concluding that the club used "sham" commercial deals to disguise owner funding and arrangements to reduce operating costs, such as coaching staff and player wages. Premier League chief executive Richard Masters described the case, and its outcome, as "the most significant in Premier League history". The same commission will now deliberate over sanctions at a separate hearing, should City's appeal be unsuccessful.
