Man City owners could face forced sale, regulator says
The IFR says it could force Manchester City’s owners to sell if they are ultimately found to have run the club improperly. City have appealed a verdict on Premier League financial rules.
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Manchester City’s owners could be forced to sell the club if they are ultimately found to have run it improperly, the chair of English football’s Independent Regulator (IFR) has said. David Kogan said the watchdog has the power to ask an owner to step away if it believes they have run a club in a way that is neither fit, fair nor done with propriety.
City, the Premier League leaders, have been found guilty by an independent commission on more than 100 charges of breaking Premier League financial rules between 2009 and 2018. The club deny wrongdoing and have appealed the verdict. They face a severe sanction unless they overturn it.
Regulator sets out its powers
Speaking to The Rest is Football podcast, Kogan said: “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 whether an owner could refuse to sell, he replied: “No. We’ve got absolute power to do so.”
City are owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, vice-president and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates. The club have become a dominant force in English football since a 2008 takeover.
Political scrutiny of the case
Kogan said last week that he would resign if there were political interference in any investigation the IFR might undertake into City.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham was criticised after saying he would be “really concerned” if City’s Abu Dhabi owners left the club following the verdict. Downing Street later insisted that no one was “above the rules”.
Burnham, who served as mayor of Greater Manchester from 2017 until June 2026, has since published all of his dealings with the City hierarchy.
Appeal will determine what follows
The club deny wrongdoing, and the severe sanction it faces depends on whether the commission’s verdict is upheld.
Kogan’s remarks make clear that a forced sale is among the powers the IFR says it can use if it finds an owner has run a club improperly. The case also leaves the UK government balancing its longstanding ties with the Emirates against the independence of the disciplinary action against City.
Source: Malay Mail. This article was compiled by the iBET.news newsroom from the source report and other public information.
