Man City charges: Any political interference and I’ll quit, says regulator

What the report says

The chair of England’s new Independent Football Regulator, David Kogan, said he would resign if any political interference affected how Manchester City’s case is handled. Speaking on Tuesday, he said the regulator had faced no political pressure so far and did not expect any in future. The comments come as City waits for the outcome of its appeal after being found guilty of widespread financial rule breaches.

According to the report, an independent panel concluded that the Abu Dhabi-backed club artificially inflated revenue by more than $1 billion over nearly a decade and sidestepped Premier League fair-play rules. The alleged misconduct covers a nine-year period from 2009 to 2018. City denies wrongdoing and is facing the possibility of penalties ranging from a large fine to points deductions or, in the most extreme case, expulsion from the top division.

The issue matters because City is one of English football’s most successful clubs of the modern era and the case is described as the biggest scandal in Premier League history. The regulator, created by the UK government last year, will begin licensing clubs from November and can also intervene over ownership and governance standards. Kogan said a final verdict after the appeal would be relevant when assessing any future licensing decisions.