LONDON — The head of English soccer's Independent Football Regulator says he will resign if he faces political interference over Manchester City's future, as the club appeals a landmark financial rules verdict. IFR chairman David Kogan said the watchdog, which has the power to assess the suitability of club owners and executives and could be asked to force a sale if guilty verdicts are upheld, will follow statute alone despite comments last month from Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Kogan, a former sports media rights executive appointed to the regulator role one year ago, defended the body's independence when asked about Burnham saying he would be "really concerned" if City's Abu Dhabi owners decided to sell. "The Prime Minister is entirely entitled to make his own observations on anything," Kogan told BBC Sport. "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, Kogan replied: "I would resign."
An independent commission found City broke Premier League rules over a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018 by creating "sham" contracts with commercial partners to secretly funnel more than £830m into football operations. City insists it is innocent and has appealed. The verdict followed a 42-day hearing in 2024 and was announced last month, 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."
Burnham was criticized for his remarks and later denied his reaction had "downplayed the seriousness of the findings," but some Premier League clubs were so "astonished" by his stance that sources told BBC Sport they were "concerned" about political interference in the appeal process. Questions have also been raised about Burnham's previous role as mayor of Greater Manchester and his relationship with City's Abu Dhabi ownership. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch demanded all details of meetings between the prime minister and senior figures at the club be released, and the government released those details on Monday. Kogan 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. City can appeal both the guilty verdicts and any sanction, leaving the club and the league in chaos and uncertainty. Punishment could range from a huge fine, a points deduction or ejection from the Premier League to being stripped of the eight trophies won in the affected period. Asked how crucial it is that the case is resolved as soon as possible, Kogan said: "I think it's very important." He added the case was "raising very serious issues if Manchester City on appeal is found to be guilty of the allegations within those findings" and 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."