Downing Street says Man City not ‘above the rules’ after Burnham backlash

Downing Street has said Manchester City are not “above the rules” after Andy Burnham was criticised for his comments about the club’s breaches of Premier League financial rules, BBC reports.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Wednesday he would be “really concerned” if City’s owners decided to sell up, after the club was found guilty by an independent commission of most of the 115 charges it faced. His remarks were branded “completely out of touch” by the Tories, catching much of the football community off guard.

Following the backlash, a No 10 spokesperson clarified the prime minister had made clear “the initial judgement is serious and there can’t be any suggestion that anyone is above the rules,” stressing the process remains ongoing and independent. “It is essential that it is allowed to run its course and the outcome respected. Wherever wrongdoing is established, those responsible should face the appropriate consequences,” the spokesperson said.

City deny any wrongdoing and have until Friday to appeal, with sources telling BBC Sport the club is expected to argue key sponsorship deals were funded by the Abu Dhabi government rather than its owners. The panel found City arranged “sham contracts” to disguise over £830m in secret funding, with the Premier League saying the club “systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade.”

Burnham told the BBC he was “not getting directly involved in the process,” but said he would be concerned to lose owners who had been “such a huge partner” in Manchester’s growth, prompting Tory accusations that he was “publicly backing the owners even as the investigation continues.”

David Kogan, chairman of the Independent Football Regulator, said the case had raised “serious issues,” noting the IFR “has powers to assess the suitability of owners, directors and executives and we will use these powers where appropriate,” while hoping for a swift resolution.