England's football regulator says it has 'absolute power' to force a Manchester City sale

The head of English football's new watchdog says it has the power to force Manchester City's owner to sell the club.

David Kogan, chair of the Independent Football Regulator, said the body could act if City are ultimately found to have run the club improperly.

What City were found guilty of

An independent commission found City guilty of getting around Premier League rules. It ruled the club set up "sham" commercial deals that inflated revenue or cut costs by more than £900 million ($1.2 billion) over nine seasons. The panel also found City made "concerted efforts" to "stop and frustrate" the league's investigation.

City have appealed that verdict.

Kogan's warning

Speaking on a podcast, Kogan said it was too early to talk about any action his organization might take. But he confirmed the regulator could order a sale by owner Sheikh Mansour if that was judged appropriate.

"We have the power to ask an owner to step away from a club if we believe that they run a club in a way that is neither fit, fair or done with propriety," Kogan said.

Asked whether an owner could refuse, he said, "No, no, no. We've got absolute power to do so."

Kogan said the regulator would wait for every question to be answered before deciding whether to open its own investigation. He said getting ahead of that process would be "a colossal mistake."

He has also pledged to resign if there is any political interference in a possible City investigation. Some worry the case could become a diplomatic issue between the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.