It’s unfair to single out Manchester City fans | Letters

Yes, the club is owned by the morally dubious regime of Abu Dhabi, but look at all the other organisations that depend on Gulf cash

As a lifelong Manchester City supporter and season ticket holder (even in the days when we were penniless in the third tier), I read with interest Nick Cohen's article on the use of our club as a vehicle for Abu Dhabi soft power and the moral issues it throws up (Man City play beautiful football but it masks the ugliness of their owners", Comment). The assumption is that Manchester City fans have become like gangsters' molls" and willing accomplices, ignoring the human rights abuses in their thirst for glory.

Without wishing to characterise Cohen as a puritanical nag" (to use his phrase), his observations highlight just how dangerous a place the moral high ground is and that moral relativism is not the sole preserve of some City supporters. Do we equally condemn the UK government and workers when Gulf states buy arms to oppress their own and neighbouring people or a UK racing industry heavily dependent on Gulf cash? We will soon be watching the 2022 World Cup in stadiums built on the exploitation of migrant workers, while wearing replica outfits produced in sweatshops in China and Bangladesh.

Continue reading...