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Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the chairman of Manchester City, enjoys diplomatic immunity. That could complicate any potential legal action in the case brought by the Premier League against the club.
The British newspaper "Financial Times" reports that Al Mubarak has held this immunity since 2020, when he was officially listed as an accredited member of the United Arab Emirates embassy in London by virtue of his position within the Emirati government. The British authorities recognise this status, and it protects him from certain judicial proceedings in the United Kingdom.
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An independent commission found Manchester City guilty of financial breaches committed between 2009 and 2018. According to the ruling, the club used fictitious commercial contracts to inflate revenues and conceal costs exceeding 900 million pounds sterling.
The fallout may stretch beyond the club and its sporting penalties. Officials who ran Manchester City during the period under investigation could face scrutiny from the Independent Football Regulator, the body that oversees English football and holds legal powers to remove owners or directors if it decides they fall short on integrity and probity, according to the Spanish newspaper "Sport".
The case may also draw the attention of the Serious Fraud Office, the British agency that investigates serious economic crimes, should any sign emerge that Manchester City deliberately falsified its accounts in breach of UK legislation. The club categorically denies committing any breach of this kind.