Manchester City face potential ownership intervention as financial case continues

Manchester City could face measures extending beyond sporting and financial penalties, with England’s Independent Football Regulator (IFR) confirming it has the power to require the club’s owners to give up control.

The regulator’s chairman, David Coogan, said the IFR could take action if it concluded that Manchester City was being run in a way that failed to meet the required standards of competence, fairness or integrity.

However, Coogan stressed that no decision would be taken while the club’s appeal against an initial ruling remained unresolved. Speaking on the The Rest Is Football podcast, he said it was too early to discuss specific action before the appeal process had been completed.

“We have the power to ask the owners to step away from the club if we believe they are running it in a way that is not competent, fair or honest,” Coogan said.

Asked whether the owners could refuse to leave, he replied: “No, no, no. We have absolute power to do that.”

Coogan also confirmed that the regulator could conduct its own investigation into Manchester City’s conduct. He said he would not form a view on the matter before all the relevant questions had been answered.

“I will not allow myself to be pressured into taking a position on this issue before we have answers to all those questions,” he said. “After that, we will have to decide whether to open our own investigation, reach a conclusion and determine what action we take. To anticipate those steps would be a grave mistake.”

Findings against Manchester City

An independent commission recently concluded that Manchester City had breached Premier League rules over a nine-season period.

According to the commission’s findings, the club used arrangements described as sham commercial agreements which either overstated revenue or reduced costs by more than £900m.

The commission also found that Manchester City had made concerted efforts to obstruct the Premier League’s investigation into those commercial arrangements.

Those findings leave the club facing the possibility of unprecedented sanctions, although Manchester City has formally appealed against the initial judgment.

The next stage of the case will depend on the outcome of that appeal. Until then, the IFR has indicated that it will not determine whether to launch a separate investigation or what measures might follow.

Coogan’s comments mean the potential consequences could extend beyond points deductions, fines or other sporting sanctions. If the regulator ultimately decided that the club’s ownership or management failed to satisfy the required standards, it could seek to force the owners to withdraw from Manchester City.