In the long shadow cast by Manchester City’s financial case, David Kogan has drawn a firm line between football regulation and political influence. The president of England’s Independent Football Regulator said he would resign should politicians attempt to intervene over any sanctions facing City after the club was found guilty by the Premier League of 114 breaches of financial rules dating from 2009 to 2018.
The eventual punishment could range from a substantial financial penalty to a points deduction or, at the most severe end, removal from England’s top division. Kogan insisted that the regulator’s work must remain insulated from the wider diplomatic and commercial considerations surrounding the club’s ownership.
“Any political interference in the way we operate would lead to my resignation, and I hold that position absolutely firmly,” Kogan said. He added that neither this case nor any other had brought political pressure so far, and that he did not anticipate receiving any in the future.
Ownership questions beyond the pitch
Kogan’s remarks followed comments from Prime Minister Andy Burnham, the former mayor of Manchester, who voiced serious concern at the prospect of City’s present owners leaving the club. Manchester City is owned by a United Arab Emirates sovereign wealth fund, while the UAE is also a significant investor in the United Kingdom.
The issue therefore reaches beyond a single club and its sporting consequences. It places the new regulator at the meeting point of English football’s governance ambitions, the global ownership of its leading sides and the political sensitivities that can accompany overseas capital.
Created by the British government last year, the Independent Football Regulator was established to introduce governance standards across the English game. Its powers include requiring club owners to sell their stakes and refusing an operating licence where owners are judged not to meet the necessary criteria.
The licensing process is due to begin in November. For Kogan, the coming months will test whether that framework can operate with the independence promised when it was formed, even as the City case brings scrutiny from far beyond the streets around the Etihad Stadium.
