Regulator Puts Manchester City's Owners on Notice Over Suitability Powers
IFR chair David Kogan says the commission's verdict 'raises serious issues' and the regulator will assess the suitability of City's owners, directors and executives 'where appropriate' — a second front independent of the club's appeal.
Published 4 Oct 20263 min read
Football Regulator Puts Manchester City's Owners on Notice: Suitability Powers Ready 'Where Appropriate'
The Independent Football Regulator (IFR) has put Manchester City's owners, directors and executives on notice that it stands ready to test their suitability to run a club, after the independent commission found City guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules across the 2009-18 seasons. IFR chair David Kogan said the commission's decision "raises serious issues" and confirmed the watchdog will use its statutory powers "where appropriate" — a warning that sits outside the Premier League's own disciplinary process and could outlast whatever the appeal board decides.
The statement, published on the regulator's official site on 30 September 2026, is the first intervention by English football's new statutory watchdog in the case that has consumed the sport since the verdict. The commission concluded City "clearly intended to circumvent" Premier League rules, with disguised owner funding and what the League described as sham contracts used to inflate revenue and depress costs by roughly £900 million across nearly a decade, as reported by the BBC, Sky News and RTE.
The independent commission's decision raises serious issues. The IFR has powers to assess the suitability of owners, directors and executives and we will use these powers where appropriate, in the interests of protecting the sustainability, honesty and integrity of English football where there is clear evidence of wrongdoing by individuals. This includes taking account of findings made by the Leagues. However, as the proceedings remain ongoing between Manchester City and the Premier League we will await further developments.— David Kogan, Chair of the Independent Football Regulator, official IFR statement, 30 September 2026
A second front, independent of the appeal
Manchester City confirmed they lodged a comprehensive appeal at 7pm on Thursday 1 October, and the club continues to deny wrongdoing. But the regulator's position opens a second front that the appeal cannot close. The IFR, which came into force in England earlier this year, holds statutory powers over club ownership and personnel that the Premier League itself does not possess — including the ability to assess the fitness and propriety of individuals in positions of influence at English clubs and to act on findings made by other bodies, such as the League's own independent commission.
Kogan's reference to "taking account of findings made by the Leagues" matters practically: the regulator does not need to investigate from scratch and can treat the commission's conclusions as a foundation for its own assessment, a route analysts noted could substantially shorten the timeline for regulatory action once the appeal is resolved. For now, the IFR says it will await further developments and hopes the case is resolved quickly for the sake of fans.
Political pressure building alongside the regulatory one
The intervention landed amid mounting political noise around the case. Prime Minister Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester until June, admitted he would be "really concerned" if City's owners decided to sell, calling them "a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester" — remarks that drew pushback and a Downing Street clarification that nobody is "above the rules". The Treasury Committee has already put HMRC on the clock over the tax implications of the verdict, with a 15 October deadline for answers.
For City, the immediate battleground remains the appeal. The longer-term question is different in kind: whether the people who own and run the club pass a statutory suitability test administered by a regulator that did not exist when the commission began its work. Kogan's statement is not an investigation opened, but it is a threshold crossed — English football's governance layer has formally registered the case as its business.
Reported by Ines Kovac, football business and governance correspondent, from the Independent Football Regulator's official statement and reporting by BBC Sport, BBC News, Sky News, RTE and the Manchester Evening News.