English soccer regulator says it could force Mansour to sell Manchester City

Picture a scenario in which an independent body has the authority to tell Sheikh Mansour, owner of Manchester City, that he must sell the club. This isn't science fiction: according to the chairman of England's new independent football regulator (IFR) himself, that possibility exists and the legal tool is already on the table.

David Kogan, who chairs the IFR, made it clear on The Rest Is Football podcast: if it's confirmed that a club's owners have mismanaged it, his organization would have the power to force a sale. This is no minor hypothetical, either, since the context behind the comment is directly tied to City.

The backstory runs deep. An independent commission found the club guilty of circumventing Premier League financial rules, after uncovering commercial agreements described as "sham" deals that are alleged to have inflated revenue or reduced costs by more than £900 million (US$1.2 billion) over a span of nine seasons. The commission also determined there had been "concerted efforts" to obstruct and frustrate the Premier League's own investigation into those arrangements.

City have already appealed the ruling, and Kogan was careful to note that it's too early to talk about specific sanctions while the process remains open. Still, he didn't hesitate to confirm that, should it be deemed appropriate down the line, the IFR could indeed compel Mansour to give up the club.

We have the power to ask an owner to step away from a club if we believe they are running it in a way that is not fit, proper or done with decorum.David Kogan

The obvious follow-up was whether an owner could simply refuse to sell. Kogan's answer left no room for ambiguity.

No, no, no. We have absolute power to do that.David Kogan

Caution before acting

That said, Kogan declined to say whether the IFR will launch its own investigation into City. He preferred to wait until all pending proceedings are resolved before making a decision.

I'm not going to be pushed into making any judgment on this until we've seen all those questions answered, and then we'll have to decide whether we're going to mount our own investigation and reach a conclusion about that and about what we're going to do. Getting ahead of that would be a colossal mistake.David Kogan

There's another wrinkle worth noting: Kogan has already pledged to resign if he detects any political interference in a potential IFR investigation into City, amid concerns the case could turn into a diplomatic issue between the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. A reminder that, beyond soccer, this matter also touches on far more delicate terrain.