Man City charges LIVE: UAE threaten Andy Burnham, Rui Pinto goes into hiding, appeal statement

· Mirror

The latest news and opinion on the Manchester City charges after the club officially appealed the guilty verdict on all but one of the 115 charges levelled at them

Good morning and welcome to our live blog on Manchester City's extraordinary 115 charges case. City were found guilty of all charges except one relating to non-cooperation with the Premier League investigation.

The independent commission found that City had arranged 'sham contracts' and relied on 'sham agreements' to artificially inflate the club's revenues by £900million and reduce its costs.

The club released a short statement on Friday, revealing it had appealed the independent commission's guilty verdict and maintained their innocence, despite strong statements from the Premier League and FA. They claimed the ruling included 'clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe.'

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has also waded into the mess, with reports claiming a punishment for Manchester City could impact the UAE's interest in future major investments in the United Kingdom. That follows on from the former Mayor of Manchester saying he would be "really concerned" to lose City's investors, after working closely with them on development projects in Manchester.

You can follow all the latest news, updates and opinions in our live blog below.

UAE reportedly threatens Andy Burnham

According to Bloomberg, sources have told them that the UAE has warned Prime Minister Andy Burnham that the Manchester City case could have an influence on bilateral relations between the two countries.

The pressure from the UAE, follows on from a statement from the Prime Minister who said he would be "really concerned" if the club's owners were forced out of the Premier League.

The report says the nations has put £30bn into key UK sectors, such as defence, while also investing in life sciences and technology.

You can read more here.

Man City whistleblower Rui Pinto leaves Portugal

Whistleblower Rui Pinto, the man responsible for the leaks which sparked the investigation, claims to have had his witness protection removed by Portugal and is now fearing for his safety.

In a post shared on X, he said: "On Wednesday, just hours after the verdict officially confirming Manchester City's guilt, the Commission responsible for Portugal's witness protection programme informed me of its decision to terminate my participation in the programme and withdraw my police protection, thereby knowingly placing me in a life-threatening situation.

" Given these circumstances, I have no alternative but to relocate, within the next few days, to an undisclosed location for an indefinite period of time, due to the multiple death threats I have received and the serious risk of an assassination attempt against me.

" For this reason, I have just set up a GoFundMe campaign and I am asking for everyone's support to help me survive this serious situation created by the Portuguese State, which, as I have already stated, has knowingly decided to place my life at risk.

" I would like to take this opportunity to extend a special thanks to everyone who continues to support Football Leaks, and I can give everyone one guarantee: the fight will most certainly continue!"

You can read the full story here.

Good morning!

Hello and welcome to our Manchester City charges live blog. We'll be bringing you all the latest news, opinion and updates on the case throughout the day.

So grab a cup of coffee and stay with us.

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