Football regulator has power to force Man City sale if guilty verdict upheld

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 21 Oct, 00:57 · Archive

The Independent Football Regulator chair said the watchdog has 'absolute power' to force Manchester City's owners to sell if their guilty verdict is upheld.

An independent commission found Manchester City guilty of circumventing Premier League rules by setting up 'sham' commercial arrangements to inflate revenues or reduce costs by over £900 million across nine seasons. The commission also found the club had made 'concerted efforts' to 'stop and frustrate' the Premier League's investigation into those arrangements. Manchester City have lodged an appeal, claiming the verdict 'contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe'.

David Kogan, chair of the Independent Football Regulator, told The Rest Is Football podcast that the IFR would have 'absolute power' to force the club's owner, Sheikh Mansour, to divest if that was felt appropriate. When asked if an owner could refuse to sell, Kogan replied: 'No, no, no. We've got absolute power to do so.' He said the watchdog could act if it believed an owner ran a club 'in a way that is neither fit, fair or done with propriety'.

Kogan said it was premature to discuss any action his organisation might take while City's appeal was ongoing. He confirmed the IFR would need to see 'all of those questions being answered' before deciding whether to mount its own investigation and what steps to take.

How it is being reported

• Football regulator has ‘absolute power’ to force Manchester City sale if verdict upheldChair David Kogan insists regulator has power to act City have appealed against Premier League’s charges The Independent Football Regulator (IFR) will have “absolute power” to force Manchester City’s owners to sell if they are ultimately found to have run the club improperly, the watchdog’s chair has said. Manchester City have been found guilty of circumventing Premier League rules by an independent commission, which found they set up “sham” commercial arrangements to inflate revenues or reduce costs by over £900m over a nine-season period. Continue reading...The Guardian · 21 Oct, 00:34
• Regulator has 'absolute power' to force Man City sale if guilty verdict upheldManchester City have appealed against the guilty verdictIndependent Sport · 21 Oct, 00:01

In this story: Manchester City · Sheikh Mansour · David Kogan · Independent Football Regulator · Premier League

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