Lisa Nandy
Role at the time: UK Culture Secretary (Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport), in an interview with Channel 5 News
Statement summary
Speaking to Channel 5 News on September 29, 2026, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said "I don't want to preempt any kind of appeal process, and they are entitled to a fair hearing." She added that "the ultimate sanction is very serious indeed."
“I don’t want to preempt any kind of appeal process, and they are entitled to a fair hearing. But what I would say is that the ultimate sanction is very serious indeed.”
PA Media's report on Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy's comments to Channel 5 News on September 29, 2026.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
Relative to the proposition that City used sponsorship contracts the commission described as shams, and related arrangements, to misstate its finances and circumvent the Premier League's financial rules, as the commission found, Nandy says she does not want to pre-empt the appeal process and that City is entitled to a fair hearing, and then turns to the seriousness of the possible sanction. That expressly declines to judge the finding, so we used Explicitly stayed out. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional, because she also says expulsion is possible if allegations are upheld, but that concerns the penalty rather than a position on the finding.