By Dr Dan Plumley

3rd Feb, 2023 | 8:49am

Expert: Government could now intervene as 'extremely dangerous' Man City deal exposed

Man City and the nine other Premier League clubs with links to a shadowy betting company in Asia are forming “dangerous” partnerships.

That is the opinion of Dr Dan Plumley, who spoke exclusively with Football Insider about the ongoing legality issues with betting in Asia and Premier League sponsorship.

The Daily Mail revealed last month (21 January) that MPs are calling for an investigation into the links between 10 Premier League clubs and their betting sponsorships in Asia.

An investigation from the news publication found links between a recently jailed Chinese billionaire with ties to criminal triad gangs, and a British tech company working with many clubs’ Asian betting partners.

Asian betting brands have been frequently advertising in Mandarin at Premier League football matches despite gambling being illegal in China.

Concerns are growing that brands may be using their sponsorships with Man City and other Premier League clubs to appeal to customers in China and promote illegal activity.

Plumley insisted the issues behind gambling in the Asian market are not a new problem for the Premier League.

“It’s a statistic that underlines the nature of the beast that we’re trying to deal with in English football,” Plumley told Football Insider.

“Despite all the rhetoric around gambling sponsors, especially in the southeast Asian market and all the legality issues that come with it – there are all these deals in place.

“It’s extremely dangerous and it shows how powerful and influential Premier League clubs are.

“People have been lobbying to change this for a while but it’s yet to happen.

“The fact that half of the Premier League’s clubs are involved shows the sheer size of the problem at hand.“

In other news, a flood of Man City rising stars could leave due to a Premier League rule change