The owners of Manchester City could be forced to sell the club after the Independent Football Regulator announced a new investigation into their conduct, following the club's guilty verdict on 114 Premier League financial charges.
David Kogan, chairman of the regulator, said his organisation has "absolute power" to order an owner to step away from a club if they are deemed not to run it "fit, fair or done with propriety". Speaking on a special edition of The Rest Is Football podcast with Gary Lineker, he confirmed investigators will examine the individuals involved with the club.
Regulator's Powers and Investigation
Kogan told the podcast that the regulator would "judge against the tests of ownership and senior directors and executives" and would "take a judgement call" on the individuals involved. Asked if owners could refuse to step down, he replied: "No no no. We've got absolute power to do so."
The regulator's probe comes on top of any punishment the Premier League may impose. Reports suggest City could face a points deduction large enough to relegate them to the Championship, with further penalties the following season.
Financial Breaches and Appeal
An independent commission found the club guilty of artificially inflating revenue by £900million through 'sham' contracts from the 2009/10 season to 2017/18. City have appealed the verdict. If the appeal fails, the club could face expulsion from the Premier League and be stripped of honours won during that period.
Kogan said he was "not going to get pushed into making any judgement" until all questions had been "answered", adding: "Pre-empting that would be a colossal mistake." He noted the regulator would decide whether to mount its own investigation after the appeal process concludes.
Potential Forced Sale and Context
A forced sale would echo the case of Roman Abramovich, who sold Chelsea after the UK Government froze his assets following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Earlier this year, Chelsea was fined £10.75m for undisclosed payments made between 2011 and 2018 under Abramovich's ownership.
City's owner, Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan, is also vice president of the United Arab Emirates. Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has faced scrutiny over two hospitality dinners with then-Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, now Prime Minister, which were not mentioned by the local authority. Greater Manchester Combined Authority lent £55m of taxpayers' cash to property developers run by Sheikh Mansour.
Asked whether the regulator would block future state-backed takeovers, Kogan said it would not do so "as a matter of course", noting that legislation does not allow blocking a purchase solely because it comes from a sovereign fund. He said decisions would depend on circumstances and guarantees, adding: "We're bound very much by the way the legislation has been written, which doesn't preclude that from happening."
