IFR chair David Kogan threatens to resign if politics pressures City response

IFR chair David Kogan said on Tuesday, during the launch of the State of the Game report, that he will resign if he faces any political pressure over how the regulator should respond after Manchester City were found to have breached Premier League financial rules over a nine-year period. “My independence is absolute,” he said, adding that “we’ve come under absolutely no political pressure whatsoever”.

Kogan explained the regulator’s remit goes beyond owners and senior executives: the IFR can assess whether they are “fit and proper”. If an owner fails a “fitness” test tied to “integrity, honesty and financial soundness”, the regulator could force the club to be sold. He also warned that, if decisions were challenged legally, clubs could be asked to cover costs through a funding levy.

Licensing and redistribution

The report highlights the gap across English football: the top-earning Premier League club currently makes 605 times the revenue of the lowest-earning National League club. It also found 94% of the 116 clubs under the regulator’s regime posted losses in 2025-26, and that 11 Football League clubs exceeded income by costs even after stripping out player wages.

Kogan argued that a redistribution deal between the Premier League and EFL could unlock change immediately—reducing parachute payments while increasing money for all clubs would help soften the distortive effect across the pyramid.