The head of English football's independent regulator says he will resign if he encounters any political interference over the future of Manchester City. As chairman of the Independent Football Regulator (IFR), David Kogan has the power to assess the suitability of club owners and executives. If an independent commission's findings that the club broke Premier League financial rules are upheld, the watchdog would have to decide whether to force a sale.
Last month, the Prime Minister Andy Burnham was criticised for saying he would be "really concerned" if Manchester City's Abu Dhabi owners decided to sell up. When asked about Burnham's comments, Kogan told BBC Sport: "The Prime Minister is entirely entitled to make his own observations on anything. I am the chairman of the Independent Football Regulator and independence absolutely runs through everything we're doing.
"And no politician has tried to influence and would try to influence anything we do on that." When asked what he would do if he did come under political pressure over the case, Kogan replied: "I would resign." An independent commission found City had broken rules over a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018 by creating "sham" contracts with commercial partners to secretly funnel more than £830m into their football operations. City insist they are innocent and have appealed. How much did Man City's rule breaking cost your team? 'Criticised for what?' - Maresca defends celebrations The prime minister initially told the BBC of his concerns, before later denying his reaction had "downplayed the seriousness of the findings".
However, some Premier League clubs were so "astonished" by Burnham's stance that sources told BBC Sport they were "concerned" about political interference in the appeal process. Burnham's previous role as mayor of Greater Manchester has led to questions about his relationship with City's Abu Dhabi ownership. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch demanded all details of meetings between the prime minister and senior figures at the club are released.
The government released these details on Monday. "As far as we, as the regulator, are concerned, we have a very, very clear course of action that is governed by statute and we are going to follow that course of action and no comment by any politician or indeed any individual is going to affect what we do", said Kogan. "Process is going to drive what we do.
Process will lead us to a conclusion. "We cannot reach any conclusion at this stage because we don't know the outcome of any appeal and once we do then we will act accordingly." The independent panel will hold a sanctions hearing - which could take months to convene - to decide the punishment. City can appeal both the guilty verdicts and the sanction, leaving the club and the league in a state of chaos and uncertainty.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
