Concerns have reportedly been raised by senior government officials of the UK over Manchester United bidder Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani.
Sheikh Jassim is one of the leading contenders bidding to take over the club with competition from the British billionaire and Ineo group boss, Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
According to Bloomberg, Government officials voiced concerns over Sheikh Jassim due to previous regulatory failings at the UK subsidiary of the Qatar Islamic Bank where Jassim has been chairman of the QIB since 2006.
Back in 2026, the Prudential Regulation Authority fined the UK Subsidiary £1.4 million citing ‘significant failings in assessing, maintaining and reporting to the regulator on its financial resources’ from June 30 in 2011 to December 31 in 2012.
The then CEO, the then CEO of the Prudential Regulation Authority and now Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey said the QIB had ‘failed to meet some of the most basic regulatory standards’.
‘QIB’s failures in this regard were serious, which is why we considered it appropriate in this case to impose a fine,’ he said.
Although the QIB are not expected to have involvement in Sheikh Jassim’s bid for Manchester United, reports suggest that government officials could pressurize the Premier League to scrutinize any potential takeover by the Qatari.
The UK Government is pushing an improved governance within football following the completion of a fan-led review with a white paper published by the Government in February, outlining plans for an independent regulator.