The headline above the article says it opens a debate that could be worth having. Comments are disabled and any postings below their World Cup preview making reference to the article are instantly removed
Of course they are, they don't want a debate because the argument, such as it is, would fold in an instant.
A sovereign state is a political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over its territory.
This is an accepted fact.
Put bluntly it matters not one jot what you or I or the Guardian thinks about the conduct of another sovereign state, as long as that state does not seek to influence affairs in another country, how it conducts its affairs within its own territory is its own business.
So as long as the Sheikh obeys the rules and norms of the UK in his investments in this country, and he does, then how affairs are conducted in his own country are of no legitimate concern of ours. Hence the invention of "sportswashing" by the liberal left, a sinister version of soft power, that asserts that how City conducts itself in the UK is immaterial (though still questionable) because the club is simply a front, the Sheikh bought City as a means for his nefarious ends.
What ends might they be?
Despite the fact our owners obey the rules and norms of this country, our detractors maintain we do not. They have been rebuffed in the courts, if not in the court of public opinion, but this is a minor setback for them, because regardless of how the club conducts its affairs, it makes no tangible difference to the liberal left case against City, because everything the club does is just cover for the Sheikh's real intent.
Which is?
To buy a slice of soft power (sports entertainment) in order to promote itself (the UAE and all it stands for) and in so doing undermine the western liberal world order. To use ownership of a football club and the pursuit of sporting excellence and all the marketing opportunities that affords, as a means of legitimising a profoundly conservative state and by extension its values.
How does that work?
The argument is that City is a "state owned" club and as such is a threat to western norms.
Why?
Because the club is nothing more than a political vehicle used by one sovereign state to influence others.
How so?
Because the Sheikh, acting on behalf of the government of the UAE, of which he is a part, set out to purchase a club playing the worlds most popular sport, in the world's most popular league, as part of a deliberate propaganda campaign to influence public opinion here in the UK and more importantly the wider world.
How does the Sheikh buying City do this?
He does this by using the club as a vehicle to promote his nation and its values. In so doing he is attempting to legitimise, to normalise, to render acceptable what he and his chums believe and how they run their country.
Put simply, by coupling the UAE with sporting excellence, the Sheikh's political aim is legitimisation by association.
The Guardian believes that this legitimisation by association propaganda campaign must not be allowed to succeed. and must be vigorously exposed at every opportunity, that's why they write the same City article, regardless of the context, over and over again.
Their argument is simple, the Sheikh's ownership of City seeks to undermine the liberal world order by making the unacceptable acceptable.