One of Manchester City’s key defences in their case against breaching the Premier League’s financial rules could be in tatters after previous statements made by their main sponsor came to light.City have been found guilty of the vast majority of their 115 charges, many of which allege City cooked the books to the tune of nearly £900million through money artificially pumped into the club by their Abu Dhabi owners over a nine-year period.An appeal was confirmed by the club on Friday, with much of their defence suggesting commercial contracts were paid for by the Abu Dhabi government rather than their owner.Now, though, it has emerged that sponsors Etihad, the state-owned national airline of the United Arab Emirates, told the United States’ department of commerce, transportation and state in 2015 that suggestions the government have paid for sponsorships are ‘false’.The statement was made as part of an investigation into state-owned airlines. It read: ‘We are government-owned and have been since our founding. We are and have always been clear that we do not receive any subsidies from the Abu Dhabi government, and that we are financed through a combination of equity, shareholder and commercial loans.’Our shareholder’s equity and loans are not subsidies under any applicable definition; they are the means by which the Abu Dhabi government has sensibly invested in a successful business model.’ A key defence around Manchester City’s appeal against the Premier League could be in tatters after a previous statement emergedNew Premier League rules state that a hearing must be held within 12 weeks of an appeal being lodged, with a decision due within 30 days of the hearing, which can only last five days, concluding. Any punishment could, therefore, be imposed this season.City claim they have ‘irrefutable evidence’ that they have worked within rules in the form of bank statements and witness accounts.They said in a statement on Friday: ‘The club’s firm position is that, on multiple grounds, the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe. ‘The club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case.’We will continue to respect due process and are necessarily restricted in what we can say further until all proceedings are complete.’The club’s ‘disguised funding’ process – where the ownership group was topping up commercial partnerships to the tune of £830.69million – it found, allowed them to illegally sign the players that ushered in an era of success at the Etihad Stadium. However, those with knowledge of the situation claim that City’s argument is that the monies were actually paid by the government, which owns the sponsors, rather than the club’s owners Abu Dhabi United Group – a private company owned by Sheikh Mansour – and as such, no rules were broken. Sponsorship deals with government-funded companies are commonplace throughout the Premier League, particularly in the case of airlines, and are not banned.