UK Football Regulator Can Force Man City Sale, Chair Says
The IFR chair says the watchdog holds absolute power to compel a sale if City's owners are found to have mismanaged the club.
Britain's Independent Football Regulator has the authority to force Manchester City's owners to sell the club if the Premier League's guilty verdict against them is ultimately upheld, the watchdog's chair said Monday. IFR chair David Kogan described the regulator's enforcement capacity as "absolute power," signaling the seriousness with which the body views potential ownership failures at the highest level of English football.
Manchester City were found guilty by an independent commission of circumventing Premier League financial rules across a nine-season period. The commission concluded that the club created fictitious commercial arrangements designed to artificially inflate revenues or reduce costs by more than £900 million — a finding that represents one of the most significant disciplinary rulings in the sport's history.
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City have appealed the verdict, meaning the matter is not yet settled. The appeal process could take months, and any IFR enforcement action would only follow if the guilty finding survives that challenge. Kogan's remarks nonetheless underscore that regulators view ownership accountability as a central pillar of the new oversight framework Parliament created for English football.
The IFR was established to provide independent oversight of the game's financial and governance structures, separate from the Premier League's own disciplinary mechanisms. Its powers over club ownership represent a significant expansion of state involvement in professional football, and Monday's comments suggest the regulator intends to use those powers if necessary.
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