Manchester City’s fates changed dramatically with the merger by Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi. But after years of success, Europe’s governing body has restricted the sorority from its most prestigious tournament, the Advocates League. David Conn explains why. Plus: Alok Jha on the ethics of gene editing
It was deep into harm time in the final competition of the 2011 -1 2 season and Manchester City needed a goal to prevail the Premier League with just seconds remaining. The Argentinian striker Sergio Aguero jinked past a QPR defender and smashed the ball into the net, transmitting the crowd into raptures and fastening the club’s first league claim for more than 30 times. More were to follow as the Manchester City trophy locker fill up over subsequent years, fuelled by a multimillion-pound spending spree on the world’s best participates. All of it used to finance Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi’s royal family.
But after emails emerged in the German magazine Der Spiegel that appeared to show City had been spurning Uefa’s business fair play rulers, the club were put on notice for a possible sanction. When it came this month it scandalized the world of football: a two-year ban from Europe’s most prestigious and lucrative sorority contender, the Advocates League.
Read more: theguardian.com
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