The men behind Man city: If you thought Qatar was a problem, wait till you get a load of Abu Dhabi

[Maradona10]

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Very well written article about the reality behind City's PR exercise, dont think this well get much mileage in U.K. Not pasting the full article as it is against site rules. Its free to read.

 

[roonster09]

It's too big, is it saying they are cnuts?

 

[crappycraperson]

Why is this a surprise? None of the middle eastern countries would even come close to match the Human rights provisions most of Europe is used to.

 

[B20]

It's too big, is it saying they are cnuts?

torturers, warmongerers, among other things.

 

[groovyalbert]

It's too big, is it saying they are cnuts?

And then some. Basically highlighting the breaches of human rights and the highly questionable business activities of the group/state that own City, and how oil-rich Middle Eastern states are seemingly hell-bent on owning, or at least having a great deal of control, in regards to all elite football clubs.

With City about to bring out a positive behind the curtains documentary, this is essentially the flip side they want to keep hidden. Obviously there are very few instances of huge investors in football not having somewhat sinister motives or backgrounds, but this does seem to have the beating of the lot.

 

[roonster09]

And then some. Basically highlighting the breaches of human rights and the highly questionable business activities of the group/state that own City, and how oil-rich Middle Eastern states are seemingly hell-bent on owning, or at least having a great deal of control, in regards to all elite football clubs.

With City about to bring out a positive behind the curtains documentary, this is essentially the flip side they want to keep hidden. Obviously there are very few instances of huge investors in football not having somewhat sinister motives or backgrounds, but this does seem to have the beating of the lot.

Thanks for the summary.

City's PR exercises were obvious when they started sharing how shiny their new academy is and all that but skimmed the article and it's very interesting.

 

[KM]

Always amuses me that English media whilst criticises Qatar and PSG at every turn, get blind when talking about City.

Patiently waiting for City fans to argue how all is not bad and football fans shouldn't care about this stuff.

 

[Ecstatic]

What's the difference between the UAE and Qatar?

Question asked by a PSG fan (for a long time ago FYI)

 

[roonster09]

torturers, warmongerers, among other things.

Now the defense would be "you think Glazers are clean?" from City fans.

 

[RC89]

What's the difference between the UAE and Qatar?

Question asked by a PSG fan (for a long time ago FYI)

The difference between UK and France. Entirely different countries but not a million miles away from each other.

 

[roonster09]

Interesting part:

Manchester City is nominally owned by Sheikh Mansour Al Nahyan, who is so enthused by his investment of nearly £1 billion that he has attended one match in nine years. “Mansour did not like the fuss it caused”, was the rather implausible explanation that a City source recently proffered to Giles Tremlett to explain the Sheikh’s aversion to attending games. A simpler explanation might be that Sheikh Mansour has nothing to do with Manchester City and that it’s not his money that is responsible for its remarkable transformation.

Abu Dhabi is the wealthiest and most powerful of the seven emirates that comprise the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The man who controls Abu Dhabi and dictates policy is Sheikh Mansour’s brother, Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. And the men who run Manchester City are Mohamed bin Zayed’s key lieutenants, not Mansour’s.

So City fans are thanking and worshipping wrong guy all these years?

 

[villain]

It’s a pretty compelling read, it’s not particularly surprising however it’s good to know in detail what goes on in those countries.

The whole situation smells far too corrupt and my pessimism is leading me to think that a large amount of the media have been paid to ensure that no negative press surrounds them.

 

[Nick7]

Similar reasons to why I'd be opposed to Saudi owners when that came up a while ago.

 

[Zoo]

Who cares, just remember that Jose is the bad guy.

 

[groovyalbert]

What's the difference between the UAE and Qatar?

Question asked by a PSG fan (for a long time ago FYI)

Whereas UAE is a collection of incredibly wealthy emirates which all fall under the control of the same monarchy, Qatar is a more recognisable state in regards to what we see in Europe, albeit it an intensely wealthy one. Both are essentially ran as dictatorships, where breaches of human rights allegations are rife. There have been tensions recently with Qatar and its surrounding nations due to allegations made against them regarding the support of Islamic extremism. Although there may well be elements of truth to this, the fact that Qatar have been developing their economy beyond oil/natural resources far more comprehensively than its competing surrounding states over the last 10-15 years is probably a bigger reasons for states such as Saudi Arabia/UAE to make these claims. Qatar is probably the best prepared to consolidate their wealth once resources begin to dry up than any other state in the region, and the others are just realising this now.

 

[The holy trinity 68]

At least when City walk the league this season then the fans start to brag and become smug about it, we all have something we can use against them.

There should be rules in place for who actually owns clubs, especially when they are involved in the kind of stuff their owners are involved in.

 

[NotBrendanRodgers honest]

What is it with the western mentality that "our way is the only right way and every other culture is wrong and barbaric". You guys are seriously deluding yourselves or living in a fantasy world if you think that there isn't massive corruption in the west too and shady deals going on all the time, infact it's a problem wherever money can be found.

People in the U.K are starving, dying because they can't afford heating due to benefits cuts or left to rot on the streets with homelessness, or burning in buildings because of £5000 cladding..and don't even get me started on the USA! The difference is the western countries are more smarter with their oppression and humans rights abuses, because let's be honest, how is someone working 60 hours a week on minimum wage just to feed their family, working EVERY day without ever actually living life not classified as oppression. The citizens of the Arab countries actually have good lives tbh.

Also who do you think makes these shady deals with these shady arabs, western countries ofcourse, so let's not use this holier than thou attitude. I'm not saying I agree at all with the Arabs but I hate how everyone is quick to point fingers here but not in their own pond first. I'm not saying all western countries are like this btw, as the scandinavian countries are great places!

Oppression and humans right abuses come in many forms, the only difference is if you call it "legal" for some reason we don't classify at a human rights abuse.

 

[11101]

Ive read similar before and seen a little bit of it first hand, theyre all as bad as each other in the Gulf. The world will be a much better place when the oil dries up.

Of course it's not just them at the PR exercises, Abramovich didn't buy Chelsea because he really liked football.

 

[Sassy Colin]

What is it with the western mentality that "our way is the only right way and every other culture is wrong and barbaric". You guys are seriously deluding yourselves or living in a fantasy world if you think that there isn't massive corruption in the west too and shady deals going on all the time, infact it's a problem wherever money can be found.

People in the U.K are starving, dying because they can't afford heating due to benefits cuts or left to rot on the streets with homelessness, and don't even get me started on the USA! The difference is the western countries are more smarter with their oppression and humans rights abuses, because let's be honest, how is someone working 60 hours a week on minimum wage just to feed their family, working EVERY day without ever actually living life not classified as oppression. The citizens of the Arab countries actually have good lives tbh.

Also who do you think makes these shady deals with these shady arabs, western countries ofcourse, so let's not use this holier than thou attitude. I'm not saying I agree at all with the Arabs but I hate how everyone is quick to point fingers here but not in their own pond first. I'm not saying all western countries are like this btw, as the scandinavian countries are great places!

Oppression and humans right abuses come in many forms, the only difference is if you call it "legal" for some reason we don't classify at a human rights abuse.

So what you are saying is that it doesn't matter what they do, because the West is just as bad?

Seriously?

 

[Maradona10]

It’s a pretty compelling read, it’s not particularly surprising however it’s good to know in detail what goes on in those countries.

The whole situation smells far too corrupt and my pessimism is leading me to think that a large amount of the media have been paid to ensure that no negative press surrounds them.

Well they are denied access to anything related to man city if they make any news that put city and their business plan in bad light. Here it is-

In 2012, when Manchester City were just beginning to hit their stride in England, a senior investigative journalist at a large British broadcasting company told me that their colleagues in sport would be very displeased if negative news coverage of the Abu Dhabi government’s links to Manchester City led to them being denied access to the club and its players.

I think most dint read this part on their P.r. director-

Another key member of the team is the Australian Simon Pearce, also a Manchester City director, and Abu Dhabi’s head of strategic communications. Pearce made his name at the public relations firm Burson-Marstellar, whose work with clients such as Nicolai Ceaucescu, Blackwater and Union Carbide led to the famous quote “when evil needs public relations, evil has Burson-Marstellar on speed-dial.” Abu Dhabi made a direct hire and Pearce is charged with protecting and promoting Abu Dhabi’s reputation.

No corruption at all-

Abu Dhabi made its ‘big play’ in Manchester in 2013 when it entered into a £1 billion property deal with Manchester City Council. A report which set out “the detailed commercial arrangements” for the joint venture was kept secret because it “involved consideration of exempt information relating to the financial or business affairs of particular persons.” The Guardian attempted to obtain the report through a freedom of information request, but the council denied the request, citing “the risk of prejudice to the commercial interests.” It’s not clear if they meant the commercial interests of the council or the commercial interests of Abu Dhabi, which in the case of this deal are managed by a company registered off-shore in the tax haven of Jersey.

Having been made aware of the council’s close business links to the Abu Dhabi government, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International wrote to the two most senior figures in the council, Sir Richard Leese and Sir Howard Bernstein, asking that they “take some simple and principled steps that would support victims of serious human rights violations and ensure Manchester’s commercial relationships with senior figures in the UAE government do not besmirch the city’s reputation.” The March 2016 letter made reference to the council’s celebration of the city’s radical past. (In 1862 Lancashire mill workers — at great personal cost — refused to touch any raw cotton picked by American slaves. Abraham Lincoln wrote to them, praising their heroism, which, he said “has not been surpassed in any age or in any country.” Mohamed bin Zayed would have had them maced and thrown them in jail. He’d have come up with something more devious for Emily Pankhurst, whose suffragette movement began at her Manchester home in Nelson Street.)

Leese responded, describing the Abu Dhabi government as “exemplary business partners” (which suggests he hasn’t seen the video of Sheikh Issa Al Nahyan using a cattle prod on his former business partner), and saying that the “alleged” abuses detailed in the letter were beyond the council’s sphere of influence. If that was debatable then, it’s laughably untrue now — last month Sir Howard Bernstein took up a job with the City Football Group.

You can clearly see nothing is wrong here, nothing at all.

 

[NotBrendanRodgers honest]

So what you are saying is that it doesn't matter what they do, because the West is just as bad?

Seriously?

Not saying that at all, just pretty sick of people acting like Arabs are inherently evil because of buzzwords like "human rights" or "corruption" when the same shit happens here under a different veil.

P.s post limit reached

 

[Maradona10]

What is it with the western mentality that "our way is the only right way and every other culture is wrong and barbaric". You guys are seriously deluding yourselves or living in a fantasy world if you think that there isn't massive corruption in the west too and shady deals going on all the time, infact it's a problem wherever money can be found.

People in the U.K are starving, dying because they can't afford heating due to benefits cuts or left to rot on the streets with homelessness, or burning in buildings because of £5000 cladding..and don't even get me started on the USA! The difference is the western countries are more smarter with their oppression and humans rights abuses, because let's be honest, how is someone working 60 hours a week on minimum wage just to feed their family, working EVERY day without ever actually living life not classified as oppression. The citizens of the Arab countries actually have good lives tbh.

Also who do you think makes these shady deals with these shady arabs, western countries ofcourse, so let's not use this holier than thou attitude. I'm not saying I agree at all with the Arabs but I hate how everyone is quick to point fingers here but not in their own pond first. I'm not saying all western countries are like this btw, as the scandinavian countries are great places!

Oppression and humans right abuses come in many forms, the only difference is if you call it "legal" for some reason we don't classify at a human rights abuse.

 

[KirkDuyt]

What is it with the western mentality that "our way is the only right way and every other culture is wrong and barbaric". You guys are seriously deluding yourselves or living in a fantasy world if you think that there isn't massive corruption in the west too and shady deals going on all the time, infact it's a problem wherever money can be found.

People in the U.K are starving, dying because they can't afford heating due to benefits cuts or left to rot on the streets with homelessness, or burning in buildings because of £5000 cladding..and don't even get me started on the USA! The difference is the western countries are more smarter with their oppression and humans rights abuses, because let's be honest, how is someone working 60 hours a week on minimum wage just to feed their family, working EVERY day without ever actually living life not classified as oppression. The citizens of the Arab countries actually have good lives tbh.

Also who do you think makes these shady deals with these shady arabs, western countries ofcourse, so let's not use this holier than thou attitude. I'm not saying I agree at all with the Arabs but I hate how everyone is quick to point fingers here but not in their own pond first. I'm not saying all western countries are like this btw, as the scandinavian countries are great places!

Oppression and humans right abuses come in many forms, the only difference is if you call it "legal" for some reason we don't classify at a human rights abuse.

The west is not perfect, but if you're denying we're better of human rights wise than the countries mentioned in this article I think the word deluded should be directed to you. Cultural differences aside, sentencing homosexuals and blasphemers to prison and worse is not an acceptable cultural difference, it's actually objectively barbaric.

You mention working for minimum wage here and state that people in Arab countries have good lives. You think there's no poverty there? That these oil billionaires share their wealth with the common people? Really?

 

[villain]

Well they are denied access to anything related to man city if they make any news that put city and their business plan in bad light. Here it is-


I think most dint read this part on their P.r. director-


No corruption at all-

You can clearly see nothing is wrong here, nothing at all.

Im keen to see what City fans think about all this, ideally ones who have been supporting for longer than 9 years.
There’s no way this should be acceptable.

 

[VP]

I've seen lot of posts recently saying equating United and City's financial clout - and from a footballing perspective we are similar - but surely people can see the difference between us and them. Sanctimony is the natural response but let's be honest this could have easily happened to us and I doubt there'd have been much opposition.

From FIFA to national associations to individual clubs, football really needs to overhaul its governance structures.

 

[Borden]

Im keen to see what City fans think about all this, ideally ones who have been supporting for longer than 9 years.
There’s no way this should be acceptable.

They don’t care. Just as Chelsea fans don’t care that they’re owned by a Russian oligarch gangster.

 

[NYAS]

The west is not perfect, but if you're denying we're better of human rights wise than the countries mentioned in this article I think the word deluded should be directed to you. Cultural differences aside, sentencing homosexuals and blasphemers to prison and worse is not an acceptable cultural difference, it's actually objectively barbaric.

You mention working for minimum wage here and state that people in Arab countries have good lives. You think there's no poverty there? That these oil billionaires share their wealth with the common people? Really?

The average Gulf citizen is indeed one of the richest on the planet. If you didn’t already know that then I don’t know what to say.

 

[Ecstatic]

The difference between UK and France. Entirely different countries but not a million miles away from each other.

Their economies may differ (gas versus oil/tourism) as well as some of their geopolitical views.

That said, I struggle to find some major differences in terms of political and social order.

Whereas UAE is a collection of incredibly wealthy emirates which all fall under the control of the same monarchy, Qatar is a more recognisable state in regards to what we see in Europe, albeit it an intensely wealthy one. There have been tensions recently with Qatar and its surrounding nations due to allegations made against them regarding the support of Islamic extremism. Although there may well be elements of truth to this, the fact that Qatar have been developing their economy beyond oil/natural resources far more comprehensively than its competing surrounding states over the last 10-15 years is probably a bigger reasons for states such as Saudi Arabia/UAE to make these claims. Qatar is probably the best prepared to consolidate their wealth once resources begin to dry up than any other state in the region, and the others are just realising this now.

Based on what I saw 10 years ago (so the situation changed in the meantime), my understanding is that:

The UAE = Abu Dhabi (Oil) + Dubai (Trade/Tourism) + other very secondary emirates

Also, I'm of those who think so many countries (including Western countries) make their contribution to extremism in a certain sense so I think the issue is more Qatar's position with regard to Iran. Contrary to his neighbours and the land of Uncle Sam, Qatar is less excited by the prospect of a conflict involving Iran and tries to develop business (pipelines).

You're right to suggest 'jealousy' and 'mimetic rivalry' play a role too.

All in all, we are talking about 2 relatively new countries established in the 70s after the UK left the area and whose development and infrastructures are very recent, suffice to look at their way of live before they discover natural resources. Some differences of course but same vision of life and same political order (local population vs expats vs foreign cheap labour) IMO

 

[villain]

They don’t care. Just as Chelsea fans don’t care that they’re owned by a Russian oligarch gangster.

True.
Unfortunately, going by the way some of our fans have been writing about City in recent weeks, if the same thing happened to us I doubt they would care either if it meant we were top of the table.

 

[Ducklegs]

What is it with the western mentality that "our way is the only right way and every other culture is wrong and barbaric". You guys are seriously deluding yourselves or living in a fantasy world if you think that there isn't massive corruption in the west too and shady deals going on all the time, infact it's a problem wherever money can be found.

People in the U.K are starving, dying because they can't afford heating due to benefits cuts or left to rot on the streets with homelessness, or burning in buildings because of £5000 cladding..and don't even get me started on the USA! The difference is the western countries are more smarter with their oppression and humans rights abuses, because let's be honest, how is someone working 60 hours a week on minimum wage just to feed their family, working EVERY day without ever actually living life not classified as oppression. The citizens of the Arab countries actually have good lives tbh.

Also who do you think makes these shady deals with these shady arabs, western countries ofcourse, so let's not use this holier than thou attitude. I'm not saying I agree at all with the Arabs but I hate how everyone is quick to point fingers here but not in their own pond first. I'm not saying all western countries are like this btw, as the scandinavian countries are great places!

Oppression and humans right abuses come in many forms, the only difference is if you call it "legal" for some reason we don't classify at a human rights abuse.

Do the people responsible for the starving people and the cheap cladding use the money they saved to buy football clubs and massively inflate their financial power through that blood money?

No, they dont.

So why you post that incredible amount of bollocks as if it is somehow comparable to the vermin that own City is beyomd me.

 

[Treble]

I respect Guardiola and his team but the owners...

 

[KirkDuyt]

The average Gulf citizen is indeed one of the richest on the planet. If you didn’t already know that then I don’t know what to say.

A may 2016 report concluded about 60% of Qatar's citizens lives in poverty in labor camps.

if out of ten people one is a billionaire and the other 9 have 1 dollar to their name, they're still very rich if you take the average. Oil makes you very rich, but what does that have to do with human rights?

 

[Maradona10]

I respect Guardiola and his team but the owners...

No owners =No guardiola/No team and probably a relegated man city

 

[NYAS]

A may 2016 report concluded about 60% of Qatar's citizens lives in poverty in labor camps.

if out of ten people one is a billionaire and the other 9 have 1 dollar to their name, they're still very rich if you take the average. Oil makes you very rich, but what does that have to do with human rights?

No, those aren’t citizens. I’m talking about citizens. You’re talking about cheap foreign labourers.

 

[M18CTID]

Im keen to see what City fans think about all this, ideally ones who have been supporting for longer than 9 years.
There’s no way this should be acceptable.

This has been discussed on here in the past. Some of the the things that go on in the UAE are certainly not palatable and certainly can't be defended. At the same time, while using this as a stick to beat City (or more to the point City fans), there's a fair bit of hypocrisy going on here. I mean, how many people on here have holidayed in Dubai? I'm sure there will also be some F1 fans on this forum but I doubt they have an issue with Abu Dhabi being on the Grand Prix roster.

On another note, I find it a bit rich to see Abu Dhabi siding with the likes of Saudi against Qatar, and the UAE bringing in prison sentences of up to 15 years for anyone who dares express sympathy for Qatar online.

 

[groovyalbert]

Not saying that at all, just pretty sick of people acting like Arabs are inherently evil because of buzzwords like "human rights" or "corruption" when the same shit happens here under a different veil.

P.s post limit reached

Absolutely no-one has implied this whatsoever. The focus has been entirely on the elites in these areas who are abusing their powers to the extreme, something which would be - and has in the past - been done in all parts of the world. The difference is, in lots of these areas there are now rules and regulations which at least attempt to prevent such foul play. Do they work? Not really. Is their still corruption in the West regardless of rules and regulations? Yes. But do these rules and regulations lead to accountability and spaces where the actions of corrupt elites are exposed? Yes. "Buzzwords" like human-rights might come across as an annoying moral standard to you, but they offer a concept which protects the weakest and most vulnerable from the actions of those looking to abuse their position.

It really doesn't matter where this is happening, it would be wrong and condemnable anywhere. It just happens that the oil rich Gulf states are currently in a position where they have huge wealth and very little in terms of political and social infrastructure to prevent its elites from taking total advantage of their position. If you don't think is a negative thing, then I can honestly say I've never been happier to read of a poster reaching their post limit for a day,

 

[NotBrendanRodgers honest]

A may 2016 report concluded about 60% of Qatar's citizens lives in poverty in labor camps.

if out of ten people one is a billionaire and the other 9 have 1 dollar to their name, they're still very rich if you take the average. Oil makes you very rich, but what does that have to do with human rights?

Wow what bullshit is this? Qatar is ranked number 1 for GDP per capita and I assure you 99.999% of their citizens are incredibly wealthy and do not live in poverty camps ffs, what a load of shit, have you ever visited these countries, because I do regularly and go to the poor and rich areas, and believe me they are MUCH better off than the average citizen here. Majority the citizens of the Arab countries have good lives and they rank all in top 10 for GDPPC.

I'm not saying they are perfect but stop this crazy spreading of misinformation. Funny how everyone thinks they are an expert on Arab countries by reading the media and never actually visiting themselves.

Also in reply to Ducklegs, where do you think all the money from those tax cuts for the increadibly wealthy go to? All those MP expenses etc while cutting benefits to the people who need it the most and letting them starve or freeze.


(Had 1 post left, didn't realise. Have no posts left on limit to reply)

 

[WackyWengerWorld]

What is it with the western mentality that "our way is the only right way and every other culture is wrong and barbaric". You guys are seriously deluding yourselves or living in a fantasy world if you think that there isn't massive corruption in the west too and shady deals going on all the time, infact it's a problem wherever money can be found.

People in the U.K are starving, dying because they can't afford heating due to benefits cuts or left to rot on the streets with homelessness, or burning in buildings because of £5000 cladding..and don't even get me started on the USA! The difference is the western countries are more smarter with their oppression and humans rights abuses, because let's be honest, how is someone working 60 hours a week on minimum wage just to feed their family, working EVERY day without ever actually living life not classified as oppression. The citizens of the Arab countries actually have good lives tbh.

Also who do you think makes these shady deals with these shady arabs, western countries ofcourse, so let's not use this holier than thou attitude. I'm not saying I agree at all with the Arabs but I hate how everyone is quick to point fingers here but not in their own pond first. I'm not saying all western countries are like this btw, as the scandinavian countries are great places!

Oppression and humans right abuses come in many forms, the only difference is if you call it "legal" for some reason we don't classify at a human rights abuse.

You clearly didn't read the article, which describes a video of one of torturing, using salt in wounds and setting his business rival on fire before murdering him. Because 'but lack of an extensive welfare state' doesn't quite work as a comeback to that. It's not a good comeback to slavery either

Obviously western hypcricy at it's finest though.

 

[Irrational.]

No owners =No guardiola/No team and probably a relegated man city

Their sense of achievement must feel so hollow, knowing that everything is artificial. Nothing has been earned, it's all off the back of some random guy's wallet. There is no prestige, history or tradition to that club. It says everything about it that the only representative they could find for the derby wasn't even football related - Noel fecking Gallagher

I can never bring myself to respect that club or anything they've achieved. A plastic vessel of a club. Feck City.

 

[KirkDuyt]

Wow what bullshit is this? Qatar is ranked number 1 for GDP per capita and I assure you 99.999% of their citizens are incredibly wealthy and do not live in poverty camps ffs, what a load of shit, have you ever visited these countries, because I do regularly and go to the poor and rich areas, and believe me they are MUCH better off than the average citizen here. Majority the citizens of the Arab countries have good lives and they rank all in top 10 for GDPPC.

I'm not saying they are perfect but stop this crazy spreading of misinformation. Funny how everyone thinks they are an expert on Arab countries by reading the media and never actually visiting themselves.

Also in reply to Ducklegs, where do you think all the money from those tax cuts for the increadibly wealthy go to? All those MP expenses etc while cutting benefits to the people who need it the most and letting them starve or freeze.


(Had 1 post left, didn't realise. Have no posts left on limit to reply)

Come on, you don't honestly believe this do you?

I work in oil and gas btw. Citizens is a very important word in this discussion.