Football regulator insists it has 'absolute power' to force Manchester City sale if guilty verdict stands

Regulator chair warns of forced sale power

The Independent Football Regulator (IFR) would hold "absolute power" to compel Manchester City's owners to sell the club should an independent commission's guilty verdict be upheld on appeal, the watchdog's chair has declared.

Speaking on the podcast The Rest Is Football, David Kogan, the chair of the IFR, confirmed the breadth of the regulator's authority even as he cautioned against speculating about any action while City's appeal remains live.

"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," Kogan said.

When pressed on whether an owner could refuse to divest, Kogan was categorical: "No, no, no. We've got absolute power to do so."

Verdict and appeal

Manchester City were found guilty by an independent commission of circumventing Premier League rules, with the panel concluding the club established "sham" commercial arrangements to inflate revenues or reduce costs by more than £900m across a nine-season period. The commission also found City had made "concerted efforts" to "stop and frustrate" the Premier League's investigation into those arrangements.

City have lodged an appeal, contesting the verdict as one that "contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe."

Kogan stressed it was premature to discuss what steps his organisation might take. "I am not going to get pushed into making any judgement on this until we've seen all of those questions being answered. Then we will have to decide whether we're going to mount our own investigation and come to a conclusion on that and what we're going to do. And pre-empting that would be a colossal mistake."

Political interference and resignation pledge

Kogan has already pledged to resign should there be any political interference in any investigation the IFR may launch into City, amid concerns the matter could become a diplomatic flashpoint between the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

As administrators of an enhanced owners, directors and senior executives test, the IFR holds powers to assess the suitability of owners and executives "where there is clear evidence of wrongdoing by individuals," according to reporting from 13 October.