MANCHESTER UNITED’S tourism tie-up with Malta is back in the spotlight because of the island’s ongoing political scandal.
Tourism minister Konrad Mizzi was one of two senior figures in Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s government to resign this week in relation to the murder of an investigative journalist in 2017.
Man Utd’s tourism tie-up with Malta is under the spotlight after the delegate on the deal resigned amid a political scandal
Mizzi led the Maltese delegation at September’s announcement of the multi-year deal fixed up with United chief Ed Woodward to be the club’s official tourism destination.
But it quickly hit controversy as Mizzi denied claims it would cost island taxpayers about £17million.
The Malta Tourism Authority refused a freedom of information request to reveal the true figure from The Times of Malta.
It claimed doing so would risk legal action by United and would reveal “trade secrets and other information having a commercial value that would be, or could be expected to be, destroyed or diminished if the information is disclosed”.
Officials also refused to disclose how many tickets to Old Trafford were included in the deal and who would have access to them.
This week Mizzi and Keith Schembri, Muscat’s chief of staff, quit as the fallout from the death of Daphne Caruana Galizia continued.
Highly critical of the Muscat regime, she was killed by a car bomb in October 2017.
Three men are awaiting trial for the journalist’s murder but police continue to investigate who ordered the killing.
Caruana Galizia had accused Schembri and Mizzi of corruption. Both deny the allegations and any link to her death.
Meanwhile, Manchester City may find themselves caught up in political controversy closer to home.
Silver Lake, the American private equity firm which bought more than 10 per cent of City Football Group last week for £389m, is also a major backer of the Oak View Group (OVG).
Hours after that disclosure, OVG opened a second consultation period over plans to build a £300m arena on City’s Etihad Campus, next to the main stadium.
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Manchester City Council has already been accused of doing cosy real estate deals with City’s ultimate owners, the Abu Dhabi United Group, that have allowed it to become a major landowner in the city.
Critics have said there is no need for the new venue, which would be just 2½ miles away from the existing Manchester Arena.
If approved, more questions will be asked about the influence of Abu Dhabi on the city.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
