Burnham to release Man City meeting details after guilty verdict backlash
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he will release details of his meetings with senior Manchester City figures following criticism of his comments after the club was found guilty of all charges related to Premier League financial rule breaches. The decision comes as some top-flight clubs fear political interference in City's appeal.
- Who: Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, Manchester City, Premier League clubs
- What: Burnham to publish details of his meetings with Man City senior figures
- When: Announced on the Rest is Politics podcast; one significant meeting took place in 2021
- Why: Following criticism of his comments after City were found guilty of all charges related to financial rule breaches between 2009 and 2018
- Key finding: Independent commission found City created "sham" contracts to funnel more than £830m into football operations
- Next: Sanctions yet to be announced; City have lodged an appeal against the verdict
What was said
"I've been asked by the leader of the opposition to publish details of my meetings, which I'm happy to do and I'm going to."
"I will quite clearly put out there everything that I have done working with them in my previous role as Mayor of Greater Manchester."
"None of it is recent, actually, in terms of the meetings I had. I only had one significant meeting, actually, and that was in 2021."
"I don't think I misspoke."
"What I would say is my mind hadn't been on all of the issues. My mind had been on Labour Party conference and I was doing interviews in relation to it."
"And also, I didn't link those two things. You know, the questions linked those two things. What I would say is they're very separate."
"The football issues are different from the investment issues. People will try and conflate those two things, but they shouldn't, in my view."
"The football issues, the findings of the independent commission are serious, as I said in the interview."
Burnham's attempt to draw a line between his political responsibilities and his support for City's ownership is unlikely to fully quiet the criticism. His admission that his mind "hadn't been on all of the issues" during Labour Party conference will be seized upon by opponents as evidence of a casual approach to serious governance questions.
The Prime Minister initially told the BBC he would be "really concerned" if Manchester City's owners decide to sell up following the guilty verdict before later denying his reaction had "downplayed the seriousness of the findings". That sequence of events has fuelled the suspicion that Burnham was slow to grasp the gravity of the commission's conclusions.
The numbers
- £830m: Amount secretly funnelled into Manchester City's football operations through "sham" contracts, according to the independent commission
- Nine years: Period over which the breaches occurred, between 2009 and 2018
- 42 days: Length of the independent commission hearing held in 2024
- 2021: Year of Burnham's only significant meeting with City senior figures
- One charge: City were found guilty of all charges except one relating to non-cooperation with the Premier League investigation
Why Burnham's transparency move may not calm the clubs
The publication of meeting details is designed to show that Burnham's dealings with City's Abu Dhabi ownership were minimal and distant. But the timing is awkward. The Prime Minister's intervention comes while sanctions are still to be announced and City have lodged an appeal, meaning any perceived political pressure could be interpreted as an attempt to influence an independent process.
Sources told BBC Sport that some Premier League clubs were "astonished" by Burnham's stance and "concerned" about political interference in the appeal process. Those clubs will not be satisfied by a retrospective release of diary entries. They want assurances that the Prime Minister will not use his platform to lobby for lenient treatment of a club he has long championed.
Burnham's defence rests on the separation of football and investment issues, but the two are deeply intertwined at City. As mayor of Greater Manchester from 2017 until earlier this year, he actively pursued Gulf investment to grow the city's economy. That strategy, which predated his mayoralty, inevitably brought him into contact with the same ownership group now under scrutiny. The independent commission found that a number of important club witnesses gave false evidence and some knowingly gave untrue and dishonest evidence, which makes any political defence of the club look more precarious.
City's on-field form remains unaffected for now. They returned to action for the first time since the guilty verdict by winning 3-0 at Liverpool on Sunday. That result, achieved with ten men for part of the match according to recent reports, has kept the focus on the pitch. But the appeal and the looming sanctions will dominate the agenda.
Talking points
- Should a sitting Prime Minister be publishing details of private meetings with a football club's ownership while an appeal is ongoing? Transparency can also be interference.
- Burnham says his mind "hadn't been on all of the issues" during Labour conference. Is that a credible excuse for a head of government commenting on a major sporting scandal?
- If City's owners did decide to sell, would that be a victory for the Premier League's financial rules or a sign that the system only targets certain ownership models?
- The commission found witnesses gave knowingly untrue evidence. Should that lead to individual punishments beyond the club sanctions still to be announced?
What happens next
Burnham is expected to publish the full record of his meetings with Manchester City senior figures in the coming days. The immediate focus, however, remains on the independent appeal board that will hear City's challenge to the verdict. Sanctions have not yet been announced, and the club's next Premier League fixture will be their first since the 3-0 win at Liverpool. The political row is unlikely to subside while the appeal is unresolved.
Frequently asked questions
Is Andy Burnham going to publish details of his meetings with Man City?
Yes. Burnham said on the Rest is Politics podcast that he is "happy to do" so and will "quite clearly put out there everything" he did in his previous role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, adding that he only had one significant meeting in 2021.
What did the independent commission find Manchester City guilty of?
City were found guilty of all charges except one relating to non-cooperation with the Premier League investigation. The commission found they broke rules over a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018 by creating "sham" contracts with commercial partners to secretly funnel more than £830m into their football operations.
Have Manchester City been punished yet?
No. Sanctions are yet to be announced and City have lodged an appeal against the verdict, which will be heard by a separate independent appeal board. The club continues to deny any wrongdoing.
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