The chair of the Independent Football Regulator (IFR), David Kogan, has said he will resign if he faces any political pressure on how to respond to Manchester City being found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules over a nine-year period, insisting “my independence is absolute”.
Kogan could remove City’s Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) should the damning verdict of an independent commission be upheld at the end of an ongoing appeal process. Concern had been raised, however, that the proximity of City’s ownership to Abu Dhabi’s rulers could trigger a political intervention by the UK government and an immediate test of the new regulator’s powers.
