The distinction isnt made in EU competition law relating to state aid.
I wasnt seriously suggesting Liverpool would be in any trouble fwiw.
I do however question a competition policy that allows Liverpool do gain sponsorship from Malaysias national airline, United to be sponsored by the majority government owned airline of Russia and Arsenal sponsored by Dubais national airline but sees our sponsorship with Etihad as anti competitive because it's from the same place as our owner.
But people desperately hoping for EU help are grasping at straws anyway. The rules apply to state aid from member states only. Mansour is not a state let alone a member state of the EU.
But who knows, I could be wrong. Will be fun to see.