Stunning twist! Man City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has held UK diplomatic immunity since 2020

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak was added to the UK's official list of recognised diplomats back in 2020, granting him full diplomatic immunity, the Financial Times has revealed.

Details: The status protects Al Mubarak from criminal proceedings and, in most circumstances, from civil proceedings while on British soil, which could seriously complicate any legal action arising from the Premier League case.

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The revelation lands like a bombshell at the most sensitive moment of the case of the century. Last week an independent commission found City guilty on 114 of the 115 charges relating to breaches of Premier League financial rules, and rival clubs are already preparing compensation claims and demanding that sanctions be confirmed this season. Al Mubarak, one of the most influential figures in Abu Dhabi and the public face of the City project since 2008, has so far fronted the club's defence, even sending a letter to fans insisting on their innocence. His diplomatic status, granted six years ago when the club was already under investigation, now raises awkward questions for the British authorities about how any potential proceedings against the club's leadership could even be pursued.

It's worth noting that the case has long since outgrown football and turned into a matter of state relations. The affair is straining ties between the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has publicly admitted he would be really concerned to lose City's owners, and now it emerges that the club's chairman is personally untouchable before British courts in most scenarios. For the Premier League, which is already facing the prospect of litigation with Etihad over the sham sponsorship claims, this is yet another legal minefield in a saga with no end in sight.

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