Baroness Karren Brady has issued a warning to Andy Burnham over Labour’s response to the ongoing fallout from the Manchester City verdict.
The former West Ham official said the “distinction between a government supporting football and a government becoming entwined” was becoming increasingly blurred.
Mr Burnham said he would be “really concerned” if City’s Abu Dhabi owners sold the club in the wake of City being found to have breached the Premier League’s financial rules by an independent commissin.
The Prime Minister credited them with being “a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester”.
However, writing in The Sun, Baroness Brady said the reaction from Westminster “matters” for the future for the English game, waring “you cannot have it both ways.”
She said: “I understand the argument. Investment is investment. Manchester has benefited enormously from the development around the Etihad.
“But this is where football becomes awkward. Because what happens when the investor in your city is also the owner of a football club facing potentially enormous consequences for breaching the rules?
“You cannot say, ‘We desperately want your investment in Manchester’, while also saying, ‘Football must be completely independent and the rules must apply equally to everybody’, then sound alarmed when those rules might have consequences for the investor’s club. That is the conflict.”
Andy Burnham has been issued a warning
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City were last week found guilty of charges related to breaches of financial rules between 2009-10 and 2017-18.
The Premier League said an independent commission found City arranged “sham” commercial deals with a number of its sponsors during the period, which were part of a disguised funding scheme, whereby those companies were required to pay only a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The commission found that the remainder was funded by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd, which majority owned the club.
The club has appealed against the guilty verdict.
Karren Brady stepped down from her position as West Ham United vice-chair,
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GETTYWhile Baroness Brady was quick to stress it “doesn’t mean Burnham has done anything wrong”, she advised Labour to “stay well away.”
She said: “Imagine the reaction if a minister intervened in an independent financial investigation involving a bank because it happened to be a major employer in their constituency.
“There would rightly be questions. So why should football be different? The answer, of course, is that football isn’t just any old industry. It is an extraordinary economic and emotional force.”
Baroness Brady added: “If sanctions are required, they need to be decided by the appropriate authorities rather than in Downing Street, Manchester Town Hall or any other political office.”
Manchester City have lodged an appeal after being found guilty of breaching Premier League rules | PA
After Mr Burnham’s remarks prompted criticism, a Downing Street spokesman insisted the guilty verdict against City was “serious”.
Mrs Badenoch, in Tuesday interviews during the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, was asked whether Mr Burnham should publish details of meetings he held as Greater Manchester mayor with anyone from Manchester City.
She told GB News: “He should. I’m surprised he hasn’t done that already.”
Pressed on what information he should release, the Tory leader said: “Everything… Otherwise what’s being hidden? I think that the comments he made showed that he still thinks he is the mayor of Manchester. He is not acting like the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.”