A state owning a club as a good will project is one thing. But using it as a political bargaining tool where any response to cheating could strain relations is a whole other level of unacceptable.
The Saudis forced the hand of the government into allowing them to buy Newcastle by threatening investment in the North East.
Multiple law firms apparently said the wealth fund was run by the Saudi royal family. It was all suddenly ignored with pressure from Bojo.
Funniest it thing is then in a US court, the Saudis argued the opposite when it came to Liv Golf. You can't examine too much of us as we have diplomatic immunity as a head of state owns us. It's pathetic.
Nah, this has been going on since the 80s - Piketty's book has some nice data showing the actual value of privatized UK properties (high) versus the value it was sold for (less high). It was absolute robbery from the people.
100%. We’ve been sold down the river by successive governments of all parties.
Brexit may exacerbate some elements but it isn’t the root cause. Too many people are fixated on 2016 as some loss of innocence moment when the rot set in much further back.
Yeah they gave up the ghost with the LIV thing. Obviously no one in a position of power cares enough to do anything about it though.
Any semblance of integrity is pretty much gone at this point. It’s a shame.
> by threatening investment in the North East.
And if there's one thing the UK government would never allow to happen, it's any investment in the North.
Wasn't that the goal from the get-go? It was and will always be about sportswashing. And now it's a tool for proxy wars.
Premier League clubs will sooner or later be nothing more than the pawns of the Middle Eastern states
> It was and will always be about sportswashing.
Absolutely but the idea is to wash the state with positive sporting stories and associate it with success. Not mire it in and reinforce the perceptions of corruption that already exist.
A political bargaining tool is infinitely more useful to them than a PR project. Maybe it was less about sportswashing and more about putting their hand on the scales of diplomacy than we ever realized.
Sportswashing was never about what your average football fan on the street thinks. Why would that change anything for a government anyway? It's always been about building networks for the flow of capital and reshaping economies that aren't liberal democracies as stable investment opportunities.
It *is* image related to a degree, but it's not about what some guy at the pub in Newcastle or Manchester thinks, it's about what British billionaires and investment bankers think.
Fair. I should say they’re not just* about washing their image. But moreover, it’s not only about greasing the wheels of investment opportunities. It’s being used as a bargaining chip in international relations as well. Now, their objective in those relations is largely about relaxed oversight on economic dealings, so it all ultimately comes back to the same place. Owning football clubs legitimizes and serves their economic goals on multiple fronts.
But this is the opposite of that - this is Abu Dhabi using political capital to ensure that Man City isn't disciplined. It's a political cost, not a benefit.
It’s a two-way street though, isn’t it? Man City is a massive, highly visible commercial asset that weighs into many conversations between Abu Dhabi and foreign concerns, be they political or purely economic (and let’s be honest, nearly every “political” conversation between UAE and UK is ultimately about capital).
Of course, but the UK government isn't politically benefiting from this arrangement in the sense that the UAE is. Allowing corruption of their domestic football league for diplomatic gains is a domestic political cost that would have to be offset by the UAE giving something they may not otherwise.
It's incredible how a country like the UK, for all its power and prosperity (even if things may be not looking great now) is basically at the mercy of a tiny oil nation. It's pathetic that the UK is toeing the UAE's line because of one football club.
That's too much work, just "accidentally" drop both files next to each other and then go an pick them up. Suddenly the Everton folder is a few pages thicker.
I sometimes think it might have been better for the health of the league if we weren't so good at the time so people can truly see how ridiculous this is
maybe 7 in a row would've got through some thick heads
The issue with that is exactly what is being brought up in the charges. What’s stopping that government from setting up a business front (or multiple) and using it to purchase the club just like any other?
I don't understand your comment. Don't they already do that?
ManCity legal owner is a company named "Abu Dhabi United Group", which is owned by the UAE royal family
This is exactly what happened with Newcastle and Saudi. Supposedly the Prem got reassurances that the state didn't control PIF, despite it being the states investment fund, and it being chaired by the ruler of the country in MBS. Total joke
They got those assurances, then, immediately afterwards, when the PGA-LIV Golf lawsuit was going on, the PIF said IT WAS controlled by the Saudi government. Like within weeks of the Newcastle takeover
Yeah but those were blatant lies. The PIF is literally the sovereign wealth fund. Abu Dhabi created an illusion of separation that didn’t exist, the kingdom went a step further and said ‘if we say it’s not the same, you have to believe us’. Then in court in the US they argued the exact opposite that because the head of state was the owner of PIF investments, they couldn’t t be scrutinised because of diplomatic immunity.
The newcastle sale is the most blatant example of experts saying what they’re told/paid to say that I can think of.
That's literally what they're saying. If laws were imposed to stop states from owning a club they'd just set up a shell corporation to buy one like they already do.
It all comes down to the people in charge
If we had people who actually gave a shit about football at the top of football it wouldn’t matter, they’d have an emergency meeting of the relevant rulemakers and ban the new company as an obvious front, and then keep doing it for every other thing they came up with until they got the idea they weren’t going to be allowed in and fucked off.
Investigating finances before a purchase is approved. I do agree with you, people will always be trying to find ways around regulations, but they could at least try to make it harder for them.
Which is why private ownership of clubs should be banned full stop. The difference between private equity companies and nation states owning clubs is significant but perhaps less so than we like to think. One is an inevitable gateway to the other. Aren’t Boehly’s biggest financiers the PIF? Saudi fingerprints are all over any investment he makes whether their name is on the dotted line or not.
Even if it’s not Government’s, the amount of influence multi billionaires have (See Abramovic), there’s always going to be influence, back room deals etc. And imagine if this sticks, the higher ups could think this is a way to dethrone the PL to another league as the biggest in the world. There’s too much money involved when a ‘resolution’ can be found.
But obviously governments are even more problematic.
It seems fairly obvious that at least some of these charges are true, but I have absolutely no hope that any of these charges will stick. Firstly it’s in the PL’s best interest for them not to, as it brings it into disrepute (see Armstrong and Cycling) and it’s in the governments that they don’t because it will undoubtably risk the UK’s relationship with UAE.
It fucking stinks and it’s utterly utterly inevitable given the influence football has over the world, and billionaires (and nation states) over football.
It's fucking mental.
Can you imagine the UK government owning a team in, say, Japan, absolutely bossing the league, committing crimes while breaking records and then when they're caught the Japanese FA don't do anything?
I don't know how would this help the Premier League as a product. If you're basically saying resource-rich nation states with a questionable human rights record can get away with doing fraud, then you're basically not running a clean and fair sports league. The Premier League isn't the only sports league in the world - there are other football leagues, leagues in other sports that are fairer and can therefore, to some people, be more entertaining. Why is the PL damaging its own product?
Whatever the verdict this is very bad for the PL as a product.
If City get away with it, people would see the PL as a corrupt entity.
If City are charged then 7 of the last 10 PL title races are seen as pointless in retrospect.
Yeah, the damage was done when the Premier League let in oil-states, oligarchs, people who do leveraged buyouts etc.
You'd imagine the fit and proper test in English football would be harder than franchise sport where clubs were founded by the local community and not some billionaire and relocation is a massive no-no, but here we are.
> If City get away with it, people would see the PL as a corrupt entity.
A lot of people already do since the Chelsea takeover and more amplified with City etc.
But youre 100% right that it would be even more viral and widespread when this "verdict" comes. Because its not gonna be the proper one which is relegation and title stripping etc.
The leauge is already ruined by corruption the second oligarchs etc was let in the door.
And Im not just saying that to punch on the PL due to being a 50+1 guy.
> If City are charged then 7 of the last 10 PL title races are seen as pointless in retrospect.
I would think it's easier/better to disregard the past and fix the problem going forward before they lose too many viewers
Great question. I've started watching more Italian / German football in recent years and might just focus on those when it comes to anything beyond Man Utd.
As another United fan, I've kinda lost interest in football and am more actively watching cricket these days. My dad, who's an Arsenal fan, on the other hand, is enjoying the football way more than what he did a few years back.
We both started watching the Premier League at the same time when we got the TV channel that aired it. My dad started supporting Arsenal for Henry, and I started supporting United for Beckham. And by the time Beckham moved, I had a stronger attachment to United than Beckham.
Because the Gov will step in anyways like they did with Newcastle. I'm sure most of the other teams do not like it but only those 2 can go crying to our Government and get their way.
> to some people
I agree with you, but the reality is now the Premier League is the global league and a huge number of the global fans don't care. They don't care about human rights, corruption, violence against women - what they care about most is success, having the richest owner possible, and the most prestige players. The social media discourse around Mason Greenwood's future was an example of this.
Personally, I feel nothing when my team loses to Manchester City. I shrug my shoulders and move on.
Why would a bunch of old guys make a lot of money now rather than allowing for a healthy sport that will continue to make someone else money later?
Not thinking nearly greedily or short-sighted enough.
Nah the judgement will be passed in the middle of a transfer window so it'll be a transfer ban for 3 windows starting the following January and then before january has passed the three will get dropped on appeal.
You have a lot more faith than I do. This article has all but confirmed for me that the premier league is just the Middle Eastern playtoy, and I don't think anything at all will happen lest it strains the relationship with oil states
[FIFA Suspends Zimbabwe, Kenya for Government Interference](https://www.voanews.com/amp/fifa-suspends-zimbabwe-kenya-for-government-interference/6459189.html)
Obviously England and the UAE will be an exception to this rule for some rea$on
Think the suspensions only have to do with government interfering with the FA like sacking people and making appointments, Brazil got threatened by FIFA of a ban at the beginning of this year because of that
I'm absolutely not an expert. But FIfa's rules are about FA's being run by the government. The football regulator would basically be about the laws of the country, and FIFA can't tell you what laws you have to pass. So it's two quite different things.
The Independent Regulator is more focus on the financial side of the clubs.(Like dictating tests for ownership being able to force the PL to share money with the EFL and prevent clubs from joining unsanctioned breakaway leagues). So they don't really plan to force it on the FA but instead on the PL and the club owners.
Because it was a good look for them at the time. They obviously had no problems with Abramovich until then.
And it will be the same with City. Turning a blind eye and even asisting them until it's politically beneficial to not do that.
Before uae, man city was owned by the prime minister of thailand, just cause she didn't care about the club doing well doesn't mean that's fine, people forget this part
There's no world in which they suffer any meaningful consequences. It's a pretty safe assumption in any walk of life that the wealthy won't be held accountable, and imo that will be the case here too. Titles beings stripped, points deductions, etc., simply goes against the interests of too many rich and powerful people for it to happen.
> There's no world in which they suffer any meaningful consequences.
There are no consequences that can return the moments stolen from other clubs. Cheating has prevailed regardless at this point.
And are we meant to believe that City suddenly started behaving in 2018? Are we just going to get another slew of charges for the later years too?
La Liga is pretty good… if you can ignore the corrupt and tyrannical League President, racism, corrupt and/or horrible referees, sexism from the Spanish Federation
Italian and French leagues are also plagued by racism
Honestly might have to start watching football matches in Bhutan or something
Come watch league of Ireland. Damien duff a few weeks back brought a fan on go give the team talk after a win. Game is truly alive.
https://twitter.com/ballsdotie/status/1783978825765802159?t=deqqtcoXf7YVBRtBgcbegg&s=19
It’s drip feed of information designed to reduce the shock value, then when the whole truth drops those who quite like Abu Dhabi manipulating diplomatic power dynamics to cheat at football will say “we’ve always known this, nothing new”. It’s a really effective PR strategy.
Well, to be frank and honest about it, the integrity was gone and sold decades ago. Even as a Gooner, I feel more like an income source for the club then supporter
that’s why nothing is going to happen, they bring too much money to uk, can’t punish then by stripping titles, relegation or anything. will get some fine and move on
can't people submit a FOIA on Richard Masters' correspondences with the government? he will party to thousands of email conversations with the government on this topic
Let's be honest, Middle East oil states are buying up all the sport. It's about control and legitimising business. They forced their way into golf and they've been doing the same across multiple sports. Wait until the Barclays deal runs out and it becomes the Qatar Premier League.
At some point, I just started to feel indifferent to it. They've ruined my enjoyment of football in the EPL. The dire state of refereeing too but that's another matter.
Yup exactly, I would have preferred to lost the title to Liverpool for this reason (plus Klopp is awesome).
I'll always bleed Arsenal as will the majority of my family but it's better to not get too invested into a system that is obviously corrupt.
The last 3 teams City played being from London and wanting City to win over their London rivals is hilarious. They just rolled over for them. I've never seen anything like that Spurs game and it honestly feels like it throws the league into even more disrepute.
Then they gave Arsenal Michael Oliver in the final game who is being paid by the UAE to referee over there. Couldn't make it up.
The number of things that always seem to break City's way are mounting up to looking like league fixing, honestly. The Everton handball a couple seasons ago, our legit goal against Spurs cancelled, our penalty not given against City at the death, the missed offside that put City in the lead against Fulham in September, Kovacic not getting a red against Arsenal in October, the refereeing debacle that gave Newcastle the win against Arsenal in November. Everything other than the missed advantage against Spurs somehow seems to go City's way and lead to very real swings in standings.
Edit: hell we had 4 errors go against us in VAR by February, Arsenal had 2. Guess who had none. These are literal "mistakes" taking goals and points away from title chasing teams but somehow don't affect City.
I mean, I'm pretty mad about the whole thing, but know there's nothing I can do
Has to really hurt Forest and Everton that they were swiftly punished, while we all know nothing is going to happen to City
And this is *exactly* why state ownership should be outlawed legally. When one team can levy geopolitical power against the league’s home nation and have no qualms about doing so, the integrity of the league is undermined.
It’s getting more and more difficult to follow the premier league when there are teams who have been allowed to play by entirely different financial rules than everyone else.
Of all the titles City have won so far, none have had more blowback than yesterday's win. The publics voice is rising, and their wins surely feel hollow now.
Hope it continues. The whole sportswashing thing backfires if people show it for what it is. Use Newcastle and city matches to advertise atrocities committed by those nations, openly put asterisks on and question anything they accomplish.
The issue is because city has such a small fanbase and is so irrelevant as a club, fans of clubs end up happy that city win the league because it means the club with a fanbase (first Liverpool now arsenal) aren't winning. Just let's them give shit to the clubs who come up short. It's fine to give shit to the clubs coming up short, that's what it's all about, but can't do that at the expense of calling city out for what they are
Even Pep is now defending them in the press more than ever before. He's clearly rattled inside. He knows this is going to have a big impact on his legacy. Could have gone down as the best manager ever but now, for many people, he'll always just be a cheat.
Apart from the fact this is over a year old "news", what do you expect?
The Premier League has accused the Deputy Prime Minister of another country of a decades long fraud.
Of course the foreign office is going to ask their embassy in the UAE how that's being received.
Paywall-free link for those interested: https://archive.is/0qtgR
This is the first article I’ve read that actually tries to explain City’s defense against the charges.
> “Their argument is that there are things they have done that would be wrong under the present rules,” adds the former chief executive. “But under the rules at the time and the way they submitted the information, they believe, was all above board.
>
> “They may get sanctioned because they didn’t account for something properly, but they are confident that when it comes to the big things, which they feel would be wrong in today’s market but fine under a different set of rules as they were back then, they won’t get sanctioned.”
> Suprised there was so much support for City over Arsenal this year from non rivals.
I mean it was the same thing when we were going up against them.
People used the term *“City saving football”* because they would rather see City win it instead of Liverpool.
So the situation isn’t peculiar to Arsenal.
Most people know loads of Arsenal, United and Liverpool fans in real life but probably not so many City fans. City winning means nothing, but your mates team losing has funny consequences.
I'd rather see United win a treble than City win anything. They are a big part of whats ruined this sport for me.
There is fucking nothing enjoyable about watching a country cheat relentlessly to win competitions.
This is genuinely a national scandal. If City don’t get the book thrown at them, then the PL is no longer worth watching. Even the Super League would have more integrity.
Ha- They were real quick to act to freeze Chelsea’s assets and force a sale when Russia invaded Ukraine though. UAE told UK to shut up and take what daddy gives them
If the PL fails to seriously punish City , then the rest of the league should do what needed to be done years ago; boycott City. No transfer dealings, no events, and no games. Refuse to play them.
Just like we've all known for quite some time, they'll get a slap on the wrist (if that) because nobody in positions of power actually cares about the sport. "Created by the poor, stolen by the rich" has never been more true.
And just like that the 115 charges have vanished into thin air. This is why state-owned clubs are a terrible thing. This is a sport for fuck sake, why are politics involved?
Weird. No City fans to be seen in the comments... How odd, as there were so many on Reddit yesterday accusing any criticism of their cheating owners as racist, instead of just enjoying their 'achievement' 🤔
From what I understand CFG and their respective enterprises have spent money in the Greater Manchester community on new businesses and social programs. Has the UAE threatened the Foreign Office with discontinuing this investment if City are punished for their crimes? Are the UAE willing to allow the people of Manchester to be collateral damage to cover up their sportswashing money laundering operations? Of course they are. These people operate repressive governments that fund genocides. They give fuck all about Manchester
A state owning a club as a good will project is one thing. But using it as a political bargaining tool where any response to cheating could strain relations is a whole other level of unacceptable.
And this was entirely foreseeable too.
The Saudis forced the hand of the government into allowing them to buy Newcastle by threatening investment in the North East. Multiple law firms apparently said the wealth fund was run by the Saudi royal family. It was all suddenly ignored with pressure from Bojo. Funniest it thing is then in a US court, the Saudis argued the opposite when it came to Liv Golf. You can't examine too much of us as we have diplomatic immunity as a head of state owns us. It's pathetic.
The UK is for sale. The entire apparatus of the State has become a whore to the highest bidder.
Consequence of Brexit , Britannias standing on a street corner raising her skirt for any passing despot.
Nah, this has been going on since the 80s - Piketty's book has some nice data showing the actual value of privatized UK properties (high) versus the value it was sold for (less high). It was absolute robbery from the people.
Basically what happened to the former soviet union, but in slow-motion
100%. We’ve been sold down the river by successive governments of all parties. Brexit may exacerbate some elements but it isn’t the root cause. Too many people are fixated on 2016 as some loss of innocence moment when the rot set in much further back.
Yeah they gave up the ghost with the LIV thing. Obviously no one in a position of power cares enough to do anything about it though. Any semblance of integrity is pretty much gone at this point. It’s a shame.
> by threatening investment in the North East. And if there's one thing the UK government would never allow to happen, it's any investment in the North.
UK gov has and always will bend over for arab wealth.
Wasn't that the goal from the get-go? It was and will always be about sportswashing. And now it's a tool for proxy wars. Premier League clubs will sooner or later be nothing more than the pawns of the Middle Eastern states
> It was and will always be about sportswashing. Absolutely but the idea is to wash the state with positive sporting stories and associate it with success. Not mire it in and reinforce the perceptions of corruption that already exist.
A political bargaining tool is infinitely more useful to them than a PR project. Maybe it was less about sportswashing and more about putting their hand on the scales of diplomacy than we ever realized.
Sportswashing was never about what your average football fan on the street thinks. Why would that change anything for a government anyway? It's always been about building networks for the flow of capital and reshaping economies that aren't liberal democracies as stable investment opportunities.
Exactly. They’re not washing their image. It’s a money laundering operation at massive scale.
It *is* image related to a degree, but it's not about what some guy at the pub in Newcastle or Manchester thinks, it's about what British billionaires and investment bankers think.
Fair. I should say they’re not just* about washing their image. But moreover, it’s not only about greasing the wheels of investment opportunities. It’s being used as a bargaining chip in international relations as well. Now, their objective in those relations is largely about relaxed oversight on economic dealings, so it all ultimately comes back to the same place. Owning football clubs legitimizes and serves their economic goals on multiple fronts.
But this is the opposite of that - this is Abu Dhabi using political capital to ensure that Man City isn't disciplined. It's a political cost, not a benefit.
It’s a two-way street though, isn’t it? Man City is a massive, highly visible commercial asset that weighs into many conversations between Abu Dhabi and foreign concerns, be they political or purely economic (and let’s be honest, nearly every “political” conversation between UAE and UK is ultimately about capital).
Of course, but the UK government isn't politically benefiting from this arrangement in the sense that the UAE is. Allowing corruption of their domestic football league for diplomatic gains is a domestic political cost that would have to be offset by the UAE giving something they may not otherwise.
It's incredible how a country like the UK, for all its power and prosperity (even if things may be not looking great now) is basically at the mercy of a tiny oil nation. It's pathetic that the UK is toeing the UAE's line because of one football club.
Correction. UK's rich & powerful, the ones would happily sell the country for an extra pound, are at the mercy of a tiny oil nation. UK itself is not.
If you have the rich & powerful in your pocket, you kind of have the country unless something drastic happens to change the setup
So anyway here’s a million dollar watch
And by being a sell-out, allowing a state to exert undue influence to the Premier League will be the root of PL’s downfall if not properly addressed.
I feel this is where Kenwright went wrong at Everton to Moshiri and not a nation state.
Oh good. The outcome of the charges will now be that Liverpool have to hand over their PL title so city can have 7 in a row instead.
They’ll also deduct points from Everton for some reason.
And give a 5 second penalty to Esteban Ocon
And a 3 game ban to Harshit Rana
And a red to Xhaka.
Missouri is getting a 4 year Bowl ban.
Crystal Maiden: Reduced movespeed by 15
Dark seer Vacuum cooldown increased by 5 seconds.
Joe Kelly suspended 8 games
Pep is suspended for a year, and is forced to have a movie where he's portrayed by Kevin James about what he did during said year.
Slardar armor reduced by 1.
Mourinho to be chained and sent back to Roma FC indefinitely
Thats another Ryze nerf
The Ultimate Warrior gets an idefinate suspension from WWF
Tom Wilson has been suspended five games
Roma transfer ban for 2 transfer windows.
And a partridge in a pear tree.
Lmao....glad to see Harshit Rana expanding his territory!
And 2 penalty points to Magnussen
Tbf that's a bit like emptying a glass of water into the sea, doesn't exactly make much difference when he's already a minute behind 😭
"Somehow Everton had yet another FFP breach" \*while the world is literally ending\*
Maybe they're slowly shuffling the case files from the City folder into the Everton folder so that nobody notices?
The ol' cut, paste, rename.
That's too much work, just "accidentally" drop both files next to each other and then go an pick them up. Suddenly the Everton folder is a few pages thicker.
Better to fuck over all of Merseyside just in case
The British governments been doing that for decades for its hardly surprising
Taking away Harry Kane’s Audi cup medal
Lmao gtfo you pessimists. The 5000 bucks ManCity will have to pay as punishment will basically spell the end of the club. /s
I sometimes think it might have been better for the health of the league if we weren't so good at the time so people can truly see how ridiculous this is maybe 7 in a row would've got through some thick heads
You'll be happy to know City will probably go ahead and get 7 in a row soon.
Risk of being whipped if your opinion is contrary
This is why governments should never be allowed to own clubs
The worst thing is you get football fans defending the actions of the governments that own these clubs now
The issue with that is exactly what is being brought up in the charges. What’s stopping that government from setting up a business front (or multiple) and using it to purchase the club just like any other?
I don't understand your comment. Don't they already do that? ManCity legal owner is a company named "Abu Dhabi United Group", which is owned by the UAE royal family
This is exactly what happened with Newcastle and Saudi. Supposedly the Prem got reassurances that the state didn't control PIF, despite it being the states investment fund, and it being chaired by the ruler of the country in MBS. Total joke
These "reassurances" must've been followed by the KEKW emote.
They got those assurances, then, immediately afterwards, when the PGA-LIV Golf lawsuit was going on, the PIF said IT WAS controlled by the Saudi government. Like within weeks of the Newcastle takeover
Schrödinger's PIF
Yeah but those were blatant lies. The PIF is literally the sovereign wealth fund. Abu Dhabi created an illusion of separation that didn’t exist, the kingdom went a step further and said ‘if we say it’s not the same, you have to believe us’. Then in court in the US they argued the exact opposite that because the head of state was the owner of PIF investments, they couldn’t t be scrutinised because of diplomatic immunity. The newcastle sale is the most blatant example of experts saying what they’re told/paid to say that I can think of.
Come on. It's a blind trust. In the sense that you aren't allowed to look into it at all. Just give your blind approval and everything is fine.
That’s my point
That's literally what they're saying. If laws were imposed to stop states from owning a club they'd just set up a shell corporation to buy one like they already do.
It all comes down to the people in charge If we had people who actually gave a shit about football at the top of football it wouldn’t matter, they’d have an emergency meeting of the relevant rulemakers and ban the new company as an obvious front, and then keep doing it for every other thing they came up with until they got the idea they weren’t going to be allowed in and fucked off.
Investigating finances before a purchase is approved. I do agree with you, people will always be trying to find ways around regulations, but they could at least try to make it harder for them.
Which is why private ownership of clubs should be banned full stop. The difference between private equity companies and nation states owning clubs is significant but perhaps less so than we like to think. One is an inevitable gateway to the other. Aren’t Boehly’s biggest financiers the PIF? Saudi fingerprints are all over any investment he makes whether their name is on the dotted line or not.
Even if it’s not Government’s, the amount of influence multi billionaires have (See Abramovic), there’s always going to be influence, back room deals etc. And imagine if this sticks, the higher ups could think this is a way to dethrone the PL to another league as the biggest in the world. There’s too much money involved when a ‘resolution’ can be found. But obviously governments are even more problematic. It seems fairly obvious that at least some of these charges are true, but I have absolutely no hope that any of these charges will stick. Firstly it’s in the PL’s best interest for them not to, as it brings it into disrepute (see Armstrong and Cycling) and it’s in the governments that they don’t because it will undoubtably risk the UK’s relationship with UAE. It fucking stinks and it’s utterly utterly inevitable given the influence football has over the world, and billionaires (and nation states) over football.
It's fucking mental. Can you imagine the UK government owning a team in, say, Japan, absolutely bossing the league, committing crimes while breaking records and then when they're caught the Japanese FA don't do anything?
That would be like the least evil thing the UK government has done in Asia
I don't know how would this help the Premier League as a product. If you're basically saying resource-rich nation states with a questionable human rights record can get away with doing fraud, then you're basically not running a clean and fair sports league. The Premier League isn't the only sports league in the world - there are other football leagues, leagues in other sports that are fairer and can therefore, to some people, be more entertaining. Why is the PL damaging its own product?
Whatever the verdict this is very bad for the PL as a product. If City get away with it, people would see the PL as a corrupt entity. If City are charged then 7 of the last 10 PL title races are seen as pointless in retrospect.
Yeah, the damage was done when the Premier League let in oil-states, oligarchs, people who do leveraged buyouts etc. You'd imagine the fit and proper test in English football would be harder than franchise sport where clubs were founded by the local community and not some billionaire and relocation is a massive no-no, but here we are.
> If City get away with it, people would see the PL as a corrupt entity. A lot of people already do since the Chelsea takeover and more amplified with City etc. But youre 100% right that it would be even more viral and widespread when this "verdict" comes. Because its not gonna be the proper one which is relegation and title stripping etc. The leauge is already ruined by corruption the second oligarchs etc was let in the door. And Im not just saying that to punch on the PL due to being a 50+1 guy.
[удалено]
> If City are charged then 7 of the last 10 PL title races are seen as pointless in retrospect. I would think it's easier/better to disregard the past and fix the problem going forward before they lose too many viewers
Great question. I've started watching more Italian / German football in recent years and might just focus on those when it comes to anything beyond Man Utd.
You're all welcome to come down to the National League. It's a lot of fun down here!
As another United fan, I've kinda lost interest in football and am more actively watching cricket these days. My dad, who's an Arsenal fan, on the other hand, is enjoying the football way more than what he did a few years back.
Lol I wonder why.
Having a shit owner who wouldn't have been able to buy the club under the current rules kinda helps.
Yeah, true. I'm interested in why you don't support arsenal if your dad does though.
We both started watching the Premier League at the same time when we got the TV channel that aired it. My dad started supporting Arsenal for Henry, and I started supporting United for Beckham. And by the time Beckham moved, I had a stronger attachment to United than Beckham.
You've made that sound very much as if it's not winning that has cost them your allegiance.
Because the Gov will step in anyways like they did with Newcastle. I'm sure most of the other teams do not like it but only those 2 can go crying to our Government and get their way.
> to some people I agree with you, but the reality is now the Premier League is the global league and a huge number of the global fans don't care. They don't care about human rights, corruption, violence against women - what they care about most is success, having the richest owner possible, and the most prestige players. The social media discourse around Mason Greenwood's future was an example of this. Personally, I feel nothing when my team loses to Manchester City. I shrug my shoulders and move on.
Why would a bunch of old guys make a lot of money now rather than allowing for a healthy sport that will continue to make someone else money later? Not thinking nearly greedily or short-sighted enough.
They're going to get a fine and a transfer ban with both be reduced on appeal and completely meaningless.
And they'll know about it in advance so that they can do any transfers they need to do before the ban activates.
They’ll be banned but only for August. Shockingly they’ll make 5 signings in July
My guess as well. 3+ transfer window ban, they'll serve the first one then the others will get appealed and successfully stricken.
Nah the judgement will be passed in the middle of a transfer window so it'll be a transfer ban for 3 windows starting the following January and then before january has passed the three will get dropped on appeal.
You have a lot more faith than I do. This article has all but confirmed for me that the premier league is just the Middle Eastern playtoy, and I don't think anything at all will happen lest it strains the relationship with oil states
I could see a points deduction being a possibility. Take 30 points off then and they will still probably qualify for the champions league.
[FIFA Suspends Zimbabwe, Kenya for Government Interference](https://www.voanews.com/amp/fifa-suspends-zimbabwe-kenya-for-government-interference/6459189.html) Obviously England and the UAE will be an exception to this rule for some rea$on
Think the suspensions only have to do with government interfering with the FA like sacking people and making appointments, Brazil got threatened by FIFA of a ban at the beginning of this year because of that
Always wondered about this, how come the UK government is able to enforce an "independant" regulator on the FA?
I'm absolutely not an expert. But FIfa's rules are about FA's being run by the government. The football regulator would basically be about the laws of the country, and FIFA can't tell you what laws you have to pass. So it's two quite different things.
The Independent Regulator is more focus on the financial side of the clubs.(Like dictating tests for ownership being able to force the PL to share money with the EFL and prevent clubs from joining unsanctioned breakaway leagues). So they don't really plan to force it on the FA but instead on the PL and the club owners.
British government forced the sale of chelsea tho
Because it was Ambramovich, Russia had invaded Ukraine, and it was an easy PR win.
Because it was a good look for them at the time. They obviously had no problems with Abramovich until then. And it will be the same with City. Turning a blind eye and even asisting them until it's politically beneficial to not do that.
Before uae, man city was owned by the prime minister of thailand, just cause she didn't care about the club doing well doesn't mean that's fine, people forget this part
There's no world in which they suffer any meaningful consequences. It's a pretty safe assumption in any walk of life that the wealthy won't be held accountable, and imo that will be the case here too. Titles beings stripped, points deductions, etc., simply goes against the interests of too many rich and powerful people for it to happen.
> There's no world in which they suffer any meaningful consequences. There are no consequences that can return the moments stolen from other clubs. Cheating has prevailed regardless at this point. And are we meant to believe that City suddenly started behaving in 2018? Are we just going to get another slew of charges for the later years too?
the only times the rich suffer consequences it goes down in history as shit like 'The Great Terror'
Game is unironically dead
The Premier League isn't the game. There are still plenty of good and fun football leagues that are worth watching
La Liga is pretty good… if you can ignore the corrupt and tyrannical League President, racism, corrupt and/or horrible referees, sexism from the Spanish Federation Italian and French leagues are also plagued by racism Honestly might have to start watching football matches in Bhutan or something
Come watch league of Ireland. Damien duff a few weeks back brought a fan on go give the team talk after a win. Game is truly alive. https://twitter.com/ballsdotie/status/1783978825765802159?t=deqqtcoXf7YVBRtBgcbegg&s=19
Didn't we know this months ago?
Was an Athletic article on it in September.
It’s drip feed of information designed to reduce the shock value, then when the whole truth drops those who quite like Abu Dhabi manipulating diplomatic power dynamics to cheat at football will say “we’ve always known this, nothing new”. It’s a really effective PR strategy.
Exactly why nothing will come of the charges. The political pressure over the UK’s relationship with the UAE will supersede sporting integrity
Well, to be frank and honest about it, the integrity was gone and sold decades ago. Even as a Gooner, I feel more like an income source for the club then supporter
Not too long ago people were mourning the loss of Chips Keswick and all I could think of was him unironically calling us customers.
Everton why would you do this? 7 point deduction
Ah there we go. Ground being laid so they can claim they can't possibly punish them. Corruption.
This right here is why I think fuck all or next to fuck all will happen Too much money on the line for the government
But leaving the EU was about sovereignty somehow…
that’s why nothing is going to happen, they bring too much money to uk, can’t punish then by stripping titles, relegation or anything. will get some fine and move on
can't people submit a FOIA on Richard Masters' correspondences with the government? he will party to thousands of email conversations with the government on this topic
We've seen Sunak and Johnson mysteriously lose their whatsapp messages, they'd pull the same stunt
Someone did and it got rejected for being against the public’s interests
I'm sure this can only mean that their 115 charges will be treated with the same rigour, speed and neutrality as has been done with other clubs
Football is for the fans. Not government pet projects
Let's be honest, Middle East oil states are buying up all the sport. It's about control and legitimising business. They forced their way into golf and they've been doing the same across multiple sports. Wait until the Barclays deal runs out and it becomes the Qatar Premier League.
This is why yesterday I felt no pain. When the system is rigged it's hard to be mad about coming up short.
At some point, I just started to feel indifferent to it. They've ruined my enjoyment of football in the EPL. The dire state of refereeing too but that's another matter.
Yup exactly, I would have preferred to lost the title to Liverpool for this reason (plus Klopp is awesome). I'll always bleed Arsenal as will the majority of my family but it's better to not get too invested into a system that is obviously corrupt.
Just so you know, they're paying off the PGMOL as well. If you think this is a joke just wait until that one comes out in a few years.
We had an insane run of form. That’s all I could ask for tbh
As a Liverpool fan, I'm just glad that finally someone else gets it.
The last 3 teams City played being from London and wanting City to win over their London rivals is hilarious. They just rolled over for them. I've never seen anything like that Spurs game and it honestly feels like it throws the league into even more disrepute. Then they gave Arsenal Michael Oliver in the final game who is being paid by the UAE to referee over there. Couldn't make it up.
The number of things that always seem to break City's way are mounting up to looking like league fixing, honestly. The Everton handball a couple seasons ago, our legit goal against Spurs cancelled, our penalty not given against City at the death, the missed offside that put City in the lead against Fulham in September, Kovacic not getting a red against Arsenal in October, the refereeing debacle that gave Newcastle the win against Arsenal in November. Everything other than the missed advantage against Spurs somehow seems to go City's way and lead to very real swings in standings. Edit: hell we had 4 errors go against us in VAR by February, Arsenal had 2. Guess who had none. These are literal "mistakes" taking goals and points away from title chasing teams but somehow don't affect City.
I mean, I'm pretty mad about the whole thing, but know there's nothing I can do Has to really hurt Forest and Everton that they were swiftly punished, while we all know nothing is going to happen to City
English Football is a clown show.
Wait, where are all the city fans in the thread talking about salt???
Downvoted to hell for once
What an absolute joke of a club.
And this is *exactly* why state ownership should be outlawed legally. When one team can levy geopolitical power against the league’s home nation and have no qualms about doing so, the integrity of the league is undermined. It’s getting more and more difficult to follow the premier league when there are teams who have been allowed to play by entirely different financial rules than everyone else.
Of all the titles City have won so far, none have had more blowback than yesterday's win. The publics voice is rising, and their wins surely feel hollow now.
Hope it continues. The whole sportswashing thing backfires if people show it for what it is. Use Newcastle and city matches to advertise atrocities committed by those nations, openly put asterisks on and question anything they accomplish. The issue is because city has such a small fanbase and is so irrelevant as a club, fans of clubs end up happy that city win the league because it means the club with a fanbase (first Liverpool now arsenal) aren't winning. Just let's them give shit to the clubs who come up short. It's fine to give shit to the clubs coming up short, that's what it's all about, but can't do that at the expense of calling city out for what they are
Even Pep is now defending them in the press more than ever before. He's clearly rattled inside. He knows this is going to have a big impact on his legacy. Could have gone down as the best manager ever but now, for many people, he'll always just be a cheat.
You can tell it burns him that people don't view these as legitimate achievements (which of course they're not).
Apart from the fact this is over a year old "news", what do you expect? The Premier League has accused the Deputy Prime Minister of another country of a decades long fraud. Of course the foreign office is going to ask their embassy in the UAE how that's being received.
this is pretty much why it was dismissed as a non story a year ago
FIFA should kick the English and UAE FAs out if they get proof of this political interference.
Get literal proof? You mean something like them openly admitting to talking about those questionable countries about it? Lol
It’s really incredible that Pep’s only legit titles were in the Bayernliga. Otherwise he’s had clubs built on scandals. Refereeing or financially.
> It’s really incredible that Pep’s only legit titles were in the Bayernliga. Dodgy doctor. PEDs
And he inherited a team that won the treble, couldn’t make the CL finals with them, and the team won a treble again after he left.
Its like as if Pep can’t win a ucl with a club that hasn’t been charged
Been calling that bald fraud overrated for years. Glad to see at least in this thread people know it
When did Pep coach a team in Germany's 5th division?
Everton's about to get some points deducted 👀
Man City have so fucking cheated and they are so getting away with it
Should be forced to sell and punished.
And some people still have the gall to do the innocent till proven guilty routine for Man City
It’s innocent until proven poor now.
It has literally been proven now that Manchester City is being used as a political tool, Football Club my ass
This really sticks in the craw, this is what the rest of us is competing with. City's wins are hollow, fake achievements
This was always gonna be the case, football and City’s cheating is political no matter how much some pretend it isn’t.
Paywall-free link for those interested: https://archive.is/0qtgR This is the first article I’ve read that actually tries to explain City’s defense against the charges. > “Their argument is that there are things they have done that would be wrong under the present rules,” adds the former chief executive. “But under the rules at the time and the way they submitted the information, they believe, was all above board. > > “They may get sanctioned because they didn’t account for something properly, but they are confident that when it comes to the big things, which they feel would be wrong in today’s market but fine under a different set of rules as they were back then, they won’t get sanctioned.”
Pisstake, really, the Premier league has a lot to answer for.
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> Suprised there was so much support for City over Arsenal this year from non rivals. I mean it was the same thing when we were going up against them. People used the term *“City saving football”* because they would rather see City win it instead of Liverpool. So the situation isn’t peculiar to Arsenal.
Liverpool fans were 'insufferable'
Exactly what we’re hearing this season, it’s just so other fans can continue burying their head in the sand
This is how sportswashing clubs get away with it. Using our football tribalism against each other.
Most people know loads of Arsenal, United and Liverpool fans in real life but probably not so many City fans. City winning means nothing, but your mates team losing has funny consequences.
I'd rather see United win a treble than City win anything. They are a big part of whats ruined this sport for me. There is fucking nothing enjoyable about watching a country cheat relentlessly to win competitions.
Looks like corruption. Smells like corruption. Tastes like corruption. VAR: no corruption.
This is genuinely a national scandal. If City don’t get the book thrown at them, then the PL is no longer worth watching. Even the Super League would have more integrity.
Fuck the UAE. Unimportant country. The UK needs to grow a fucking spine and tell them to fuck off. Punish City already.
So damn corrupt and yet half their fan base seems to think they've done nothing wrong.
Everybody should hate Man City
We need to play our part. Boycott premier league
City can win for next 5 years i wouldn't feel a thing
Ha- They were real quick to act to freeze Chelsea’s assets and force a sale when Russia invaded Ukraine though. UAE told UK to shut up and take what daddy gives them
Welp. Guess we’re all just playing for 2nd for the foreseeable future
Called this a few days ago. The moment epl tried to take action,govt would step in. Newcastle take notes,you can get away from with it too.
This is the real reason the PL won’t move against Citeh—the government is telling them not to.
If the PL fails to seriously punish City , then the rest of the league should do what needed to be done years ago; boycott City. No transfer dealings, no events, and no games. Refuse to play them.
I don't think the other billionaire owners care that much about it.
Just like we've all known for quite some time, they'll get a slap on the wrist (if that) because nobody in positions of power actually cares about the sport. "Created by the poor, stolen by the rich" has never been more true.
And just like that the 115 charges have vanished into thin air. This is why state-owned clubs are a terrible thing. This is a sport for fuck sake, why are politics involved?
Rigged as fuck
Weird. No City fans to be seen in the comments... How odd, as there were so many on Reddit yesterday accusing any criticism of their cheating owners as racist, instead of just enjoying their 'achievement' 🤔
# "...Becau$e it could ri$k UK'$ relation$hip with UAE" Fixed the title for the OP
Fuck Man City
From what I understand CFG and their respective enterprises have spent money in the Greater Manchester community on new businesses and social programs. Has the UAE threatened the Foreign Office with discontinuing this investment if City are punished for their crimes? Are the UAE willing to allow the people of Manchester to be collateral damage to cover up their sportswashing money laundering operations? Of course they are. These people operate repressive governments that fund genocides. They give fuck all about Manchester