Etihad's 2015 word to Washington, set against Man City's appeal case

Sky Sports News' own report on an old airline filing drew close to a million views in twenty hours, as the channel moved from reactions to the verdict to a document of its own.

Channel: Sky Sports NewsStory of October 4, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 1,023,026 views a day, 13 times a normal first day on this channel (79,828).

Etihad Airways 2015 statement raises questions about Man City appeal strategy

After days of other people's reactions to the Manchester City verdict, Sky Sports News came back with a paper trail. Its newest report places a 2015 filing by Etihad Airways beside the argument City are expected to make in their appeal, and within twenty hours close to a million people had watched it.

The description sets out the background. An independent commission found that City disguised £830m of owner funding as sponsorship income over nine seasons. Sky understands the club will argue on appeal that the extra money came from the Abu Dhabi government rather than its owners, Abu Dhabi United Group. City are believed to have tried that defence at the original 2024 hearing. The three-person panel rejected it and called it an explanation put together well after the event. The description adds that City argued the opposite at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, when they appealed against their two-year UEFA ban.

The 2015 document cuts against the same argument. Etihad sent the sixty-page filing to three US government departments in reply to claims that it lived on state subsidies, a complaint pushed at the time by America's largest airlines. In it the airline said it had paid for its City sponsorship, stadium naming rights included, from its own funds, and that the Abu Dhabi government had not.

Comments came in about three times faster than on a usual first day. Many of them pick at a single word: commenters say City have called the verdict an "opinion", and they keep returning to it.

The same Saturday, England beat Croatia 7-0 and Thomas Tuchel gave his reaction. On Sky Sports News, more viewers turned to an eleven-year-old airline filing.

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Read next

More from Sky Sports NewsVideo taking off 10x its usual first day"Significant implications for integrity of the game": the FA speaks on Man CityEnglish football's governing body broke its silence on the guilty verdict, and Sky Sports News' report on City's appeal followed close behind.Channel: Sky Sports News · Story of October 3, 2026

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The numbers

This is far beyond a usual first day for a Sky Sports News report, and the comment section kept pace with the views.

the video's first day

usual first day here

79,828

this video

1,023,026

subscribers

1,940,000

no significant change in the last 7 days

total views

1,235,706,734

views per day

2,011,372

typical day: 1,496,223

the video

views

951,984

likes

4,813

comments

1,731

days online

1

compared with similar channels (subscribers)

A7 EDITZ

2,090,000

FutVibes

2,010,000

talkSPORT

1,960,000

Sky Sports News

1,940,000

AFTV

1,840,000

Tifo Football by The Athl…

1,820,000

As of October 4, 2026 · Data source: Trari Social News, Trari Traffic Trends and Ranking Platform, Google YouTube

Subscriber, view, like and comment counts are YouTube's. Rates, usual days, rankings, comparisons and categories are Trari's own calculations.

Where next?

Also in Football clubs, leagues and mediaVideo taking off 131x its usual first dayEngland put seven past Croatia in Rijeka, and ITV Sport has every goalRoy Keane's verdict on Jude Bellingham and the players' own reaction followed the highlights up the channel the same night.Channel: ITV Sport · Story of October 4, 2026 A different discovery todayVideo taking off 13x its usual first dayFlyDubai captain Smit Machchhar, stabbed in the cockpit, speaks to Imtiaz TyabThe short interview from his hospital bed drew about 200,000 views in its first day, where a CBS Evening News short usually ends near 15,000.Channel: CBS Evening News · Story of October 4, 2026