Football regulator chief says he can force a Manchester City sale

The head of English football's new regulator says he has the power to force Manchester City's owner to sell the club, if City are ultimately found to have run it improperly. David Kogan, chair of the Independent Football Regulator (IFR), said so on the podcast The Rest Is Football, as The Guardian reported on 20 October.

Asked whether an owner could refuse to sell, Kogan gave a short answer. "No, no, no. We've got absolute power to do so." These were spoken remarks on a podcast, not a formal written statement.

The row goes back to 29 September. An independent Premier League commission, a panel that sits apart from the league, found Manchester City guilty of all charges linked to serious breaches of the league's financial rules. The panel said City had set up "sham" commercial deals, arrangements that looked genuine but were not, which inflated revenue or cut costs by more than £900m over nine seasons. It also found that City made "concerted efforts" to "stop and frustrate" the league's investigation.

City have appealed. The club says the verdict contains clear errors of law, principle and fact, and that it is unsafe. Kogan said it was premature to discuss any IFR action against City while that appeal is ongoing. The club's owner is Sheikh Mansour.

Kogan has also said he would resign if politics interfered with any IFR investigation into City. His comments come amid concerns about a possible diplomatic issue between the UK and the UAE. Until the appeal is settled, the regulator's next move remains unclear.

For supporters, the key point is simple. The regulator's chair is now saying publicly that a sale is on the table if the verdict stands and the club is judged to have broken the rules. Nothing has been decided yet, and City continue to fight the findings.