IFR chair David Kogan says he would resign if politicians interfere in Manchester City case
David Kogan, chairman of the Independent Football Regulator, told BBC Sport on 13 October 2026 that he would resign if he encountered political interference over the future of Manchester City.
Kogan has statutory powers to assess the suitability of club owners and executives and said he would not allow political intervention to influence the regulator’s work. An independent commission found Manchester City broke Premier League financial rules between 2009 and 2018, and owners Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) are said to have topped up the value of commercial deals as part of a "disguised funding scheme" to the scale of £830m; City deny the findings and have appealed. Kogan, a former sports media rights executive, was appointed to the regulator role one year ago.
Asked about comments from Prime Minister Andy Burnham that he would be "really concerned" if the scandal led to City’s Abu Dhabi owners selling the club, Kogan told BBC Sport: "The Prime Minister is entirely entitled to make his own observations on anything. "We are independent. That is in the name. 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, Kogan replied: "I would resign."
Sources told BBC Sport that some Premier League clubs were so "astonished" by Burnham's stance that they were "concerned" about political interference in the appeal process, and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch demanded all details of meetings between the prime minister and senior figures at the club be released; the government released these details on Monday. Shadow Culture Minister Louie French has written to the government citing "concerns about the IFR's ability to adjudicate this case fairly, free from political interference". Kogan’s own appointment was the subject of an inquiry by the Commissioner for Public Appointments over his historic links to the Labour Party, having contributed money to the leadership campaigns of Sir Keir Starmer and Lisa Nandy.
Speaking at the launch of the IFR's State of the Game report, Kogan reiterated the regulator’s intent to follow statutory procedure: "As far as we, as the regulator, are concerned, we have a 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". On political meddling he said: "I can tell you absolutely categorically that any politician who's trying to meddle in this for political purposes is welcome to try and welcome to do it, but I am going to stand by the probity of the organisation that I lead. If anybody wishes to challenge those after we've acted, that's entirely up to them."
The independent commission held a 42-day hearing in 2024 that led to the verdict announced last month, finding City guilty of all charges except one relating to non-cooperation with the Premier League investigation. The commission's report said that "a number of important club witnesses gave false evidence in key respects and that some knowingly gave untrue and dishonest evidence". Kogan said the case was "raising very serious issues if Manchester City on appeal is found to be guilty of the allegations within those findings" and added, "I think it's very important."
On the regulatory process and possible actions, Kogan said: "We are waiting like everybody else to see what the independent panel will do… and then we will bring in a view in terms of our own investigation and statutory powers if we need to do so." He described the IFR’s remit as focused on individuals: "Our powers relate to individual owners, directors and senior executives. They refer to whether people are in a position to run a club in a way that is safe, coherent and done with probity, and we will be examining those things." He declined to pre-empt actions on licences, saying: "I'm not going to begin to comment on any actions we may take until we've had a chance to assess it." On state-connected ownership he added: "No, I don't think specifically it does. We have no powers to prevent state ownership of clubs. It's not within our remit. But I don't think you can apply a general observation about type of ownership to one particular example."
An independent panel will hold a sanctions hearing — which could take months to convene — to decide on Manchester City's punishment; the club can appeal both the guilty verdicts and any sanction, and Kogan said the IFR will assess whether to use its statutory powers once the independent panel has issued its decision.