Manchester City scandal a test of Britain’s commitment to rule of law

The visit by star-studded Manchester City, the most successful English football team of recent times, was a highlight of Hong Kong’s football festival this summer. Supporters, sporting the club’s colours, flocked to Kai Tak Stadium, turning it into a sea of blue.

Now, the club has plumbed the depths, found guilty by an independent tribunal of systematic breaches of the English Premier League’s financial rules over almost a decade.

The affair has, with justification, been described as one of the biggest sporting scandals ever. But it transcends football. The controversy has diplomatic and economic implications for the United Kingdom – and has become a problem for Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

City are appealing against the decision and strenuously deny any wrongdoing. The club has been majority owned, since 2008, by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, an Emirati royal and vice-president of the United Arab Emirates. The UAE is an important economic partner and ally of the UK.