Football regulator chief refuses to rule out forcing Man City owners to sell over £900m revenue fraud verdict

The chair of England’s Independent Football Regulator has refused to rule out launching a separate investigation into Manchester City and forcing the club’s owners to sell, following the independent commission verdict that found City guilty of artificially inflating revenues by £900 million through ‘sham’ contracts between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons.

David Kogan made the remarks on a special edition of The Rest Is Football podcast, hosted by Gary Lineker and Alastair Campbell. City were found guilty in September of all charges relating to Premier League financial rule breaches and have since lodged an appeal against the decision.

Kogan was explicit about the regulator’s authority over individuals rather than clubs. “We would judge against the tests of ownership and senior directors and executives. We would look at the individuals who’ve given evidence, we will look at the individuals involved with the club and we will take a judgement call,” he said.

When pressed by Campbell on whether the IFR has the power to compel Sheikh Mansour — City’s Abu Dhabi-based owner — to step away, Kogan confirmed: “We have the power to ask an owner to step away from a club if we believe that they run a club in a way that is neither fit, fair or done with propriety.” Asked what would happen if an owner refused, Kogan was unequivocal: “No, no, no. We’ve got absolute power to do so.”

Kogan was careful to stress that no judgement would be made before the appeal process concludes. “I am not going to get pushed into making any judgement on this until we’ve seen all of those questions being answered and then we will have to decide whether we’re going to mount our own investigation,” he said, adding that pre-empting the outcome “would be a colossal mistake.”

The regulator chair has also pledged to resign personally if there is any political interference in a potential IFR investigation, amid reported concerns that action against City’s Abu Dhabi ownership could create a diplomatic tension between the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

City’s appeal against the original commission verdict remains ongoing, meaning no sanctions — whether from the Premier League or the IFR — are imminent. The regulator’s position, however, signals that the legal and regulatory exposure for the club’s ownership could extend well beyond the Premier League’s own disciplinary process.