LONDON — The chairman of English football's Independent Football Regulator has said he will resign if he encounters any political interference over the future of Manchester City. David Kogan, who has the power to assess the suitability of club owners and executives, said the watchdog would have to decide whether to force a sale if an independent commission's findings that Manchester City broke Premier League financial rules are upheld on appeal.
The commission found City had broken rules over a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018 by creating "sham" contracts with commercial partners to secretly funnel more than £830m into their football operations. City insist they are innocent and have appealed. When asked about comments last month from Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who said he would be "really concerned" if City's Abu Dhabi owners decided to sell up, Kogan told BBC Sport: "The Prime Minister is entirely entitled to make his own observations on anything. We are independent. That is in the name. I am the chairman of the Independent Football Regulator and independence absolutely runs through everything we're doing. And no politician has tried to influence and would try to influence anything we do on that." When asked what he would do if he did come under political pressure over the case, he replied: "I would resign."
Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, was criticised for his remarks before later denying his reaction had "downplayed the seriousness of the findings". Some Premier League clubs were said to be "astonished" by his stance, with sources telling BBC Sport they were "concerned" about political interference in the appeal process. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch demanded all details of meetings between the prime minister and senior figures at the club are released, with the government releasing those details on Monday. Kogan, a former sports media rights executive appointed to the regulator role one year ago, said: "As far as we, as the regulator, are concerned, we have a very, very clear course of action that is governed by statute and we are going to follow that course of action and no comment by any politician or indeed any individual is going to affect what we do. Process is going to drive what we do. Process will lead us to a conclusion. We cannot reach any conclusion at this stage because we don't know the outcome of any appeal and once we do then we will act accordingly."
An independent panel will hold a sanctions hearing — which could take months to convene — to decide punishment, with City able to appeal both the guilty verdicts and any sanction, leaving the club and the league in a state of chaos and uncertainty. Punishment could range from a huge fine, being deducted points or being ejected from the Premier League, to being stripped of the eight trophies they won in the affected period. The verdict followed a 42-day hearing in 2024, with City found guilty of all charges except one relating to non-cooperation with the Premier League investigation. The commission's report said "a number of important club witnesses gave false evidence in key respects and that some knowingly gave untrue and dishonest evidence".
Asked how crucial it is that the case was resolved as soon as possible, Kogan said: "I think it's very important," adding the case was "raising very serious issues if Manchester City on appeal is found to be guilty of the allegations within those findings". He said: "We are waiting like everybody else to see what the independent panel will do… and then we will bring in a view in terms of our own investigation and statutory powers if we need to do so. Our powers relate to individual owners, directors and senior executives. They refer to whether people are in a position to run a club in a way that is safe, coherent and done with probity, and we will be examining those things."