Manchester City has been allegedly bombarded with more than 100 breaches of the Premier League financial rules. These charges range for 9 years between 2009 AND 2018. All these years, Manchester City has been accused of ambiguities in their funds and violating the financial fair play rules. As football lovers, these things do harm to fairness in competition.
They have been charged with a crime of providing inaccurate financial information between 2009 and 2018. The clubs must spend from their earnings, which, in the case of Manchester City, did not happen.
The Secret Manager
One of the most specific charges against the club was regarding the money paid to one of its managers. It was allegedly discovered that there was a secret money deal with the manager. In addition to the official contract between the club and the manager, this deal was more like a bonus.
Manchester City has close linkages to the Kingdom of UAE as its owner, Sheikh Mansour, is also the Deputy Prime Minister of UAE. We can assume from where this flow of money is coming as this club serves a greater purpose for the owner.
Allegations of non-cooperation
There have also been allegations against Manchester City of not complying with the law enforcement officials. The club has denied these allegations openly and said “irrefutable evidence” is available to clear the club of any wrongdoings.
Man City & Sportswashing: A match made in UAE
The club has been notorious for its linkage with the monarchs of UAE since they took control in 2008. Although the club has gained fan-favorite status purely through playing quality football, we all knew there is more to this. Football is a sport that is followed worldwide, and Sheikh Mansour targeted this. They did all this through complete strategic planning by investing money and time in the right direction.
And we cannot say that this is a blessing the club has given the owners in disguise. But side by side, through sound business acumen, the club has also provided financial benefits to the owners. Manchester City has now become the highest revenue-earning club in football history.
Such material benefits, however, mean little to the owners as they have a bigger fish to fry. For them, this revenue is like peanuts as compared to the oil money that they have. Their greater goal is to cover the human rights abuses and atrocities that happen in their country by using sports as a soft power tool.
Winning Hearts and Minds
Sheikh Mansour and company are well aware of sports’ effects on people, especially in today’s world. With increased social media usage, Manchester City has made a global family of fans. These fans, however, needed to be made aware of the back channel diplomatic goals that Sheikh Mansour was fulfilling through this.
This is why these allegations are significant for Manchester City as a club, including their owners, and for the fans. Now, there is an ethical constraint that will be hanging above the stakeholders of the club. Every club activity will be observed directly under the lens of geopolitics and narrative building.
With every success of the club on the field, there will be even more critical objections to the human rights abuses back in the desert.
Ethics over blind support
Football is a sport that is very close to the hearts of fans as they keep a close eye on everything happening around their clubs. Just as there lies a responsibility on the governing bodies of the Premier League, fans are also responsible. The governing bodies need to keep the integrity of the sport intact. At the same time, the fans should play a pivotal role in bringing about change.
At the end of the day, the fans will go to the stadiums to cheer for their team. They will be fighting for their favourite club on social media. In this way, they are a significant stakeholder and should direct their energies wisely.
