Unlock Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, editor-in-chief of the FT, selects her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Manchester City’s main sponsor Etihad Airways has threatened to take the Premier League to court after an independent commission found the football club had entered into “fictitious” commercial deals to inflate its revenues.
The Abu Dhabi-based airline said on Wednesday that it “categorically rejects any findings, conclusions or implications suggesting that the airline has ever been involved in improper commercial arrangements.”
She said she was “deeply concerned” by the Premier League’s communication on the matter, which had “detrimental implications” for the airline, even though the company’s name did not appear in the committee’s redacted report.
The airline said it would “seek appropriate legal advice on the options and remedies available to protect its interests.”
On Tuesday, the Premier League published the findings of the independent commission’s report into allegations of financial wrongdoing at City over a nine-year period following the club’s takeover by a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family in 2008.
The commission found that the club entered into “fictitious” commercial deals that disguised share payments made by the club’s owners as income in the form of sponsorship income.
Between 2009 and 2018, the scheme allowed City to overstate its revenue by £830.7 million, the commission said, giving it the opportunity to spend more on players while appearing to comply with the Premier League’s financial rules.
On Tuesday, the club’s chief executive Ferran Soriano said the decision was a “Premier League conspiracy theory” based on “a single false accusation”.
The club has maintained its innocence since the Premier League first launched an investigation in 2018. The league then laid 115 charges for breaching financial rules in 2023.
Etihad, one of the UAE’s airlines, has been City’s main sponsor since 2009 and has the naming rights to the team’s stadium in east Manchester.
It is also a key sponsor of several other clubs owned by City Football Group, the parent company of Manchester City, including New York City FC and Spanish club Girona.
City’s success on the ground has given the airline, which began operations in 2003, a springboard to reach millions of potential customers around the world. Last year it carried 22.4 million passengers, up from 18.5 million the year before.
“Etihad is immensely proud of our long-standing relationship with Manchester City,” the company said on Wednesday. “We stand with the club, its supporters and our wider Etihad community as Manchester City challenges the commission’s findings through the processes available to it.”
The city has until October 2 to appeal the commission’s decision and has announced its intention to do so.
Additional reporting by Peter Campbell in London
Gn sports
