Introduction
I have spent the last couple of blog posts talking about the direct correlation between off-field financials and on-field performance. The topic this week, however, is near and dear to my heart. I have supported Manchester City for as long as i have followed football. I want to change course slightly in this post. Instead of pointing out what is perhaps the most obvious case of buying the league that we will see in this series, I instead want to focus more on the negative backlash that has emerged around the club as a result of the Abu Dhabi Group’s investment beginning in 2008. This negative backlash has taken two primary forms: the ethics surrounding being backed by a state with a medieval human rights record and the more recent accusations of operating in a below-board manner regarding transfers and sponsorships.
In September 2008, the Abu Dhabi United Group and its owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan looked to take over Manchester City Football Club from the former Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra. Shinawatra was himself embattled in corruption scandal at home and was forced to put the club up for sale. From the onset, Mansour and the Abu Dhabi Group was intent on establishing Manchester City as a European powerhouse. In some sense they have achieved that goal, having won the 2011 FA Cup, 2011–12 Premier League, 2013-14 Premier League, 2017-18 Premier League, 2012 FA Community Shield, 2018 FA Community Shield, 2013–14 Football League Cup, 2015-16 Football League Cup, 2017-18 Football League Cup and the 2018-19 EFL Cup.
Human Rights Abuses
Despite their on-field successes, there have been a number of issues raised about the Abu Dhabi Group. These issues have been largely ignored by City supporters who mostly live in a sort of ignorant bliss when watching the product on the field. Nonetheless, the Abu Dhabi Group has connections to the government of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The UAE has a shockingly comprehensive record of recent human rights abuses including forced disappearances, torture of its own citizens, rampant sexual abuse, and war crimes in UAE-run prisons in Yemen. Furthermore, migrant workers in the UAE are exempt from labor laws in the country resulting in a situation resembling modern-day indentured servitude and – in especially horrific circumstances – slavery. The acquisition of Manchester City by the Abu Dhabi Group has even been described by some as a method to “launder” the UAE’s image through a successful football club.
Financial Fair Play Violations
Earlier this month (March 2019), Europe’s governing football body, Uefa, announced it was launching an investigation against Manchester City for violation of UEFA financial fair play rules. This came on the heel of leaked documents obtained by German news outlet Der Spiegel. The most serious allegation by Uefa is that City camouflaged investment by owner, Sheikh Mansour the Abu Dhabi ruling family, and represented it as sponsorship by the country’s airline, Etihad. This investigation is currently ongoing and details are still being slowly dripped to the public so there is currently not much to draw in terms of conclusions. One possible outcome is a ban on signing players for two transfer windows. Another, more serious outcome could be the prohibition from entering European competitions for a period of time. Regardless of the potential consequences, the current impact is the proliferation of extreme tribalism that is indicative of so many facets of modern life.
Conclusion
Sport lends itself well to bias and tribalism. There are some City fans that, no matter how iron-clad the evidence, will still cry conspiracy. There are some City fans who will cry “well what about…?” and retreat further into their echo chambers. This is unfortunately a pattern of behavior that has infiltrated politics and culture at large. The fact remains, Manchester City play beautiful, captivating football and we as fans must ask ourselves if it is possible to separate the product on the field from the sinister activities that go on behind the scenes.
Tito Football on YouTube has several informative videos for learning more about Manchester City and their numerous, complicated financial dealings. I have linked 3 such videos here
Football Through Finances 