Andy Burnham concerned about losing Manchester City owners as regulator monitors case

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said on 30 September that he would be ‘really concerned’ if Manchester City lost its owners following an independent commission’s findings against the club. The Independent Football Regulator says it is monitoring the case and will await developments before deciding whether to use its powers to assess the suitability of people who own and run English clubs.

Burnham praised City Football Group and the wider ownership for investing in Manchester, including the Etihad and its surrounding campus. He called the owners a ‘huge partner’ in building the modern city and turning Manchester City into a global force. His comments put the potential local consequences of an ownership change alongside a disciplinary process whose outcome is still unresolved.

The remarks follow the independent commission’s findings on financial rule breaches, covered in NewsJaws’ earlier report on Manchester City’s guilty verdict. The Premier League says a separate hearing will decide any sanction. No loss of ownership is established by the ruling or the regulator’s comments.

Why Burnham says he will stay out of the Premier League case

Burnham said he could not intervene in the disciplinary process and that it would be wrong to reach a conclusion before studying all the details. He also noted that City continues to contest the case. His concern about losing the owners was therefore a statement about their importance to Manchester, rather than a view on what sanction the commission should impose.

What the Manchester City commission found

According to the Premier League, the independent commission found City guilty of all charges relating to serious financial rule breaches over nine seasons, from 2009/10 to 2017/18, and upheld most charges concerning failure to cooperate with the league’s investigation. The league says the commission found that commercial contracts and other agreements disguised funding from Abu Dhabi United Group, which owned the club.

The Premier League says those arrangements inflated revenue and reduced costs by more than £900 million during the period. In the league’s account of the findings, City filed misstated accounts, concealed its true financial position from auditors and football regulators, and significantly breached Premier League and UEFA spending limits. Three of four alleged breaches of City’s duties to cooperate with the investigation were also upheld.

The league began investigating in December 2018 and issued its complaint in February 2023. A 42-day commission hearing concluded in December 2024. Only a redacted version of the commission’s core findings has been published; the league says further material remains confidential while the process continues. Premier League chief executive Richard Masters called the decision the most significant in the competition’s history and said a sanction still had to be determined.

What the football regulator can do about City’s owners

Independent Football Regulator chief executive David Kogan said the commission’s decision raised serious issues. In remarks reported by the Guardian, he said the regulator can assess the suitability of owners, directors and executives where appropriate, including by taking account of league findings when there is clear evidence of wrongdoing by individuals. He said it would await further developments because proceedings between City and the Premier League remain ongoing.

The regulator’s published owners, directors and senior executives regime sets standards for honesty, integrity, competence and financial soundness. Its powers concerning incumbent owners and senior managers took effect in December 2025; amended rules and guidance took effect in May 2026. Those powers explain why the regulator can consider the case. Neither Kogan’s reported statement nor the regulator’s regime page establishes that a formal assessment of City’s ownership has begun.

What happens next in Manchester City’s case

The Premier League says City has until Friday 2 October to appeal the commission’s findings. A separate commission hearing will consider sanctions and will remain private under league rules until publication is permitted. The rules allow a range of penalties, including fines, points deductions and other sporting sanctions. No sanction has been announced in the material available here, and the regulator has not said it will remove or disqualify an owner. For now, Burnham’s concern and the regulator’s monitoring are responses to findings whose disciplinary and regulatory consequences remain open.