{"id":8632,"date":"2026-10-14T08:15:30","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T08:15:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=8632"},"modified":"2026-10-14T08:15:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T08:15:30","slug":"regulator-would-quit-over-man-city-interference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=8632","title":{"rendered":"Regulator would quit over Man City interference"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The head of English football\u2019s independent regulator says he will resign if he encounters any political interference over the future of Manchester City.<\/p>\n

As chairman of the Independent Football Regulator (IFR), David Kogan has the power to assess the suitability of club owners and executives.<\/p>\n

If an independent commission\u2019s findings that the club broke Premier League financial rules are upheld, the watchdog would have to decide whether to force a sale.<\/p>\n

Last month, Prime Minister Andy Burnham was criticised for saying he would be \u201creally concerned\u201d if Manchester City\u2019s Abu Dhabi owners decided to sell the club.<\/p>\n

When asked about Burnham\u2019s comments, Kogan told BBC Sport: \u201cThe Prime Minister is entirely entitled to make his own observations on anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are independent. That is in the name. I am the chairman of the Independent Football Regulator, and independence absolutely runs through everything we\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd no politician has tried to influence and would try to influence anything we do on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked what he would do if he came under political pressure over the case, Kogan replied: \u201cI would resign.\u201d<\/p>\n

An independent commission found that City had broken rules over a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018 by creating \u201csham\u201d contracts with commercial partners to secretly funnel more than \u00a3830 million into their football operations. City insist they are innocent and have appealed.<\/p>\n

The Prime Minister initially told the BBC of his concerns before later denying that his reaction had \u201cdownplayed the seriousness of the findings\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, some Premier League clubs were so \u201castonished\u201d by Burnham\u2019s stance that sources told BBC Sport they were \u201cconcerned\u201d about political interference in the appeal process.<\/p>\n

Burnham\u2019s previous role as mayor of Greater Manchester has led to questions about his relationship with City\u2019s Abu Dhabi ownership.<\/p>\n

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch demanded that all details of meetings between the Prime Minister and senior figures at the club be released. The government released the details on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs 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. No comment by any politician or indeed any individual is going to affect what we do,\u201d Kogan said.<\/p>\n

\u2014 BBC<\/p>\n

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The head of English football\u2019s independent regulator says he will resign if he encounters any political interference over the future of Manchester City. As chairman of the Independent Football Regulator (IFR), David Kogan has the power to assess the suitability of club owners and executives. If an independent commission\u2019s findings that the club broke Premier…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-trending-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t