Sportsupdated 1h ago3 min read
Independent Football Regulator Chair David Kogan Vows To Resign Over Political Interference In Manchester City Case
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David Kogan vows to resign if political interference affects Manchester City case. IFR independence is stressed by Kogan amid ongoing Manchester City proceedings.
Kogan draws a line
David Kogan, chair of the Independent Football Regulator, said he would resign if he faced political interference over potential sanctions for Manchester City after an independent commission found the club guilty of widespread breaches of the Premier League's financial rules. Kogan said the regulator was still awaiting the outcome of City's appeal against the verdict, and he tied the regulator's independence to his own position by saying, "any form of political interference on the way we operate is going to result in my resigning from this role and I stand by that completely." The Independent Football Regulator has powers to force club owners to sell and can withhold a license to operate if they are deemed unfit, and the regulator chair said a verdict after appeal would be taken into account when awarding a license.
The case centers on allegations that the United Arab Emirates-backed club artificially inflated its revenue by more than $1 billion over nearly a decade, and the BBC also reported Kogan would quit if he encountered political interference. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he would be "really concerned" if City's Abu Dhabi owners decided to sell, while Burnham also said he would not get "directly involved in the process."
Independence vs Burnham
Kogan told the BBC Sport that the Prime Minister was "entirely entitled to make his own observations on anything" while Kogan insisted, "We are independent. That is in the name."
Kogan added that "And no politician has tried to influence and would try to influence anything we do on that," as the BBC described concern among some Premier League clubs about political interference in the appeal process.
An independent commission found City broke 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, and City insisted they are innocent and appealed.
The BBC said the independent panel will hold a sanctions hearing that could take months to convene, and it said City can appeal both the guilty verdicts and the sanction.
ESPN also reported Kogan said, "We are absolutely bound by one thing, and that one thing is regulating football and regulating football clubs," while it described the IFR's power to force owners to divest in extreme cases.
Licensing and possible punishments
The Independent Football Regulator was established by the British government last year, and the regulator chair suggested the guilty verdict would not impact the issuing of a license to City because its appeal is ongoing. Kogan said the regulator would clearly take into account a verdict once it has gone through an appeal process when looking at awarding a license or looking at the owners, directors and senior executives. The BBC said the sanctions hearing could take months to convene and that City can appeal any sanction imposed, leaving the club and the league in a state of chaos and uncertainty.
The BBC also reported that the commission held a 42-day hearing in 2024 that led to the verdict announced last month, and it said the commission's report stated that "a number of important club witnesses gave false evidence in key respects". The ESPN account said the regulator's powers include forcing owners to divest from clubs in extreme cases, and it described the IFR's authority to force a sale if findings are upheld and action is needed against ownership or executives.