The aftermath of Russia's invasion to Ukraine has shone a spotlight on international funding in sports in Europe and in particular the United Kingdom. Wealthy Russians and oligarchs close to President Vladimir Putin have been sanctioned by the UK government and the highest profile case, was that of Roman Abramovich who was the owner of Chelsea, given the stature of the club involved. The club existence is under threat with only a special license allowing it to operate certain football related activities. However, Raine Group are overseeing the take over which is moving into its final stages with at least four bidders in the mix. Abramovich, who was the owner of Chelsea until sanctioning has been blocked from benefiting either directly or indirectly from the sale of Chelsea.
 

The billionaire was free to invest as much money as he pleased in the club though he faced sporadic criticism about his links to Putin through out the two decades that he has been in charge of Chelsea. Under his stewardship, the club has won two UEFA Champions League titles and five Premier League titles. Following the sanctioning events, the EPL has now come under pressure to expand its criteria for assessing prospective owners, particularly in relation to human rights. The Premier League Chief Executive Officer, Richard Masters recently said that they were looking to see if more tests need to be added in the procedure of authorising club ownership and if they and whether such decisions need to be approved by a transparent body to enhance efficiency. 

Although there has been scepticism surrounding the practices and motives of several American investors, the biggest objection in EPL club ownerships has always come in relation to Middle Eastern involvement. The take over of Newcastle United by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund had Amnesty International renewing calls for a human-rights complaints owners' and directors' test. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who is the chairman of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has been accused of presiding over a regime that has led a coalition in the long-running armed conflict in Yemen, as well as instigating a major human rights crackdown. Other Middle Eastern nations have also invested heavily in sports including FIFA World Cup 2022 hosts, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates which have not fallen short of being condemned for their human rights record. 

Sheikh Mansour is the deputy prime minister of UAE and also the owner of Manchester City and has so far spent a fortune of more than $1.3billion to turn the club into one of the most successful in Europe. Labour MP Chris Bryant who serves as the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Russia has raised concerns on whether Mansour is a ‘fit and proper person to be owning a football club’. Although there appear to be a lot of criticism on the ManCity ownership, any potential intervention seem to be difficult because the UAE has fostered close ties with the Uk. The UAE has remained neutral over Russia's invasion of Ukraine despite pressure from Europe and the United States.

UAE has been using sports to put itself in the world stage hosting the Cricket World Cup while the capital city, Abu Dhabi hosted the final race of the formula 1 last season. Football has been UAE's most visible marketing tool with the Emirates airline, a Dubai government owned Investment Corporation sponsoring the FA Cup, Arsenal football club stadium, Real Madrid, Chelsea, AC Milan and Paris Saint Germain amongst others. One of the driving factors behind Middles Eastern investment in sports has been alleged to be ‘sports washing’ which is the use of sports to clean a tarnished public image or reputation. Some stake holders in the sporting industry however, argue that Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Qatar and Bahrain are only trying to position themselves as global members of the sporting community as a way of diversifying their economies away from the dependance of oil and gas. Others however, argue out that these countries are using sports negatively for divisive and even possibly destructive reasons. Whatever the motive behind these countries going big in the sporting industry, there is one thing that is now clear going forward, in English football, there is now scrutiny than ever before of where the money is coming from.