Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak shielded by diplomatic immunity from UK legal action

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has held diplomatic immunity in the United Kingdom since 2020, a status that could shape any legal action following the independent commission's ruling against the club. He appears on the UK's official list of approved diplomats, which shields him from criminal proceedings and most civil lawsuits in British courts.

The independent commission found City guilty of almost all the Premier League charges, the majority of them linked to serious breaches of the league's financial regulations between 2009 and 2018. The panel concluded that the club created sham commercial contracts as part of schemes designed to inflate revenue and hide costs by more than £900m over that nine-year period.

• Khaldoon Al Mubarak has been on the UK diplomatic list since 2020 as an economic counsellor for the United Arab Emirates.
• The independent commission upheld nearly all of the Premier League charges against Manchester City.
• The club says it will appeal and insists it has a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence supporting its case.
• The Independent Football Regulator could ban owners and executives if they are deemed unfit on integrity grounds.
• Andy Burnham has warned about the consequences of the Abu Dhabi owners potentially selling the club.

How diplomatic status limits legal exposure for City's chairman

Al Mubarak, a senior official in the UAE government, was added to the UK's list of approved diplomats in 2020. In the most recent government document, he is recorded as 'Mr Khaldoon Khalifa Alshaikhahmad Almubarak, Counsellor (Economic)', among around 30 names linked to the United Arab Emirates. That position gives him immunity from any criminal prosecution and from most civil claims brought before British courts.

The commission's initial core judgment redacts several names, and Al Mubarak has not been directly accused of wrongdoing. Still, the Independent Football Regulator has statutory powers to disqualify owners, directors and executives if questions arise about their honesty and integrity. The Serious Fraud Office could also examine the case if there were any suggestion that City deliberately falsified accounts under UK law, something the club firmly denies.

The damning financial verdict against Manchester City

According to the commission's decision, City built a structure of fake sponsorship contracts to artificially boost revenue and conceal spending. The period under scrutiny covers nine seasons, from 2009 to 2018, with the total hidden sums exceeding £900m. Most of the charges concerned those serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules.

The club reacted strongly to the outcome. In a statement released after the verdict became public, Manchester City said it was both disappointed and surprised by the commission's opinion. The club argued that a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence supports its positions and announced it would pursue every appeal route available, claiming the ruling contains clear material errors of law, principle and fact.

The club's appeal strategy and public defence

Manchester City insists that the Premier League process is far from over and that significant stages remain incomplete. If the appeal does not succeed, the club could take the case to the High Court. Its central argument is that the Premier League Board and Executive should have acted as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence, and that this principle was not upheld during the eight-year investigation.

In a letter to fans published shortly before the verdict emerged, Al Mubarak restated the club's innocence. The chairman said City's confidence in proving its innocence remains as strong as when the process began, and that the club will not give anyone the opportunity to undermine its momentum.

Emirati investment and fears over a possible Abu Dhabi exit

Diplomatic relations between the UK and the United Arab Emirates could also be tested by the case. In 2021, both governments launched a sovereign investment partnership that commits around £30bn of Emirati capital to Britain, a process led personally by Al Mubarak. The scale of that economic relationship adds a political layer to the sporting dispute.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has acknowledged concern about a potential sale of Manchester City by its Abu Dhabi owners. Burnham praised the ownership group led by Sheikh Mansour for its investment since taking over the club in 2008, both in transforming the team and in rebuilding large parts of Manchester. Speaking to the BBC, he said losing those investors would be a serious blow to the city.

Everton's financial case and Burnham's cautious approach

Burnham, who previously served as mayor of Greater Manchester, drew on Everton's battle with the league's profit and sustainability rules to explain his careful stance. The Liverpool club received a ten-point deduction, later reduced to six, after breaching financial rules over a three-year period ending in 2022. The prime minister has argued that Everton was not treated fairly by the league, and that his own experience prevents him from taking sides without knowing all the details of City's case.

With sanctions still to be determined and appeals expected, Burnham admitted there is a lot at stake for City, their supporters and Manchester. Even so, he said it would be inappropriate for him to intervene in an ongoing disciplinary process.