English soccer's regulator insists there will be no political pressure in Man City case

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — The chair of English soccer's regulatory body said Tuesday he would resign if there were any political interference over potential sanctions for Manchester City.

City has been found guilty of widespread breaches of the Premier League's financial rules which could result in punishments including a massive fine, points deductions or even expulsion from England's top flight.

Separately, the Independent Football Regulator has the powers to force club owners to sell and can withhold a license to operate if they are deemed unfit.

An independent panel found the United Arab Emirates-backed City had artificially inflated its revenue by more than $1 billion over nearly a decade, circumventing fair-play rules.

Football regulator chair David Kogan said it was still awaiting the outcome of City's appeal against the verdict.

The UAE is a big investor in the U.K. Asked about the regulator's ability to remain independent given wider relations between the governments, Kogan said “any form of political interference on the way we operate is going to result in my resigning from this role and I stand by that completely.”

“We’ve come under absolutely no political pressure whatsoever on this or any other topic. And I don’t expect to in the future,” he said.

Kogan's comments came after U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he would be “really concerned” to lose City’s current ownership. Burnham also said he would not get “directly involved in the process.”

City is accused of providing misleading information about its finances over a nine-year period from 2009-18. During that time, it won three titles and signed some of the world’s best players. It went on to enjoy a period of unprecedented dominance of English soccer.

The guilty verdict represents the biggest scandal in Premier League history and raises questions over the future of the club, which is owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family.

The Independent Football Regulatory was established by the British government last year to set governance standards in English soccer.

Part of that includes the issuing of licenses for clubs to be able to operate, which will begin from November.

Kogan suggested the guilty verdict would not impact the issuing of a license to City because its appeal is ongoing.

“A verdict once it’s gone through an appeal process will certainly be something that we would clearly be taking into account when looking at awarding a license or looking at the owners, directors and senior executives,” he said.

Kogan was speaking in Manchester for the publication of the regulator's “State of the Game” report into English soccer.

The report states that despite the success of English soccer — which includes the Premier League, the world's richest and most popular league — 94% of clubs throughout the pyramid are loss-making and more than a quarter of clubs would be unable to survive more than 30 days if owners pulled funding.

It states a major problem is teams spending excessively to try to keep up with rivals.

“At the heart of English football’s success is a massive contradiction. While some of our clubs are among the richest and most competitive in the world, others are standing on the edge of financial disaster," Kogan said. “This lack of resilience can no longer be ignored.”

English soccer has revenues of nine billion pounds ($11.92 billion) according to the report. Despite that, many clubs are “technically insolvent and increasingly reliant on owners,” it states.

Seventeen clubs "would be loss making even if their players played for free,” the regulator's CEO Richard Monks said. “Owners in many football clubs will inject the money two or three days before payday and not keep any cash in the club. This is not how most businesses are run, and it’s a major issue which we will require football to address.”

The regulator has been involved in negotiations between the Premier League and the English Football League regarding what are known as solidarity payments to help develop England's lower leagues. That includes parachute payments to teams relegated from the top flight.

The regulator is proposing a change to those payments to be more evenly spread among teams. It is part of a suite of proposals, including measures for clubs to improve management of financial risk.

James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

FILE - Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak gestures prior to the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Manchester City and Inter Milan in Manchester, England, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson, File)

FILE - A exterior shot of the stadium before the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Wednesday, June 17, 2020. (Peter Powell/Pool via AP, File)

A general view of a billboard featuring a Paddy Power advert that reads 'Shamchester', in Manchester, England, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

FILE - Manchester City fans wave the team's flag prior to the League Cup soccer match final between Aston Villa and Manchester City, at Wembley stadium, in London, England, Sunday, March 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Ian Walton, File)

ENSENADA, Mexico (AP) — The death toll from Hurricane Simon and the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel rose to six Tuesday after heavy rains triggered flooding and landslides along Mexico’s Pacific coast, authorities said.

Hurricane Simon continued moving slowly off Mexico’s Pacific coast as a Category 1 storm, bringing heavy rain to Nayarit and Sinaloa states, where authorities remained on alert for rising rivers and flooding. Over the weekend, the hurricane brought heavy rain to the southern state of Guerrero, killing one person.

But the worst damage was reported farther north, in the coastal city of Ensenada, Baja California, where flooding caused by Rachel’s remnants killed at least five people.

The victims included a 13-year-old girl whose body was found Sunday, two women ages 30 and 35 and a 4-year-old boy whose bodies were recovered Monday, and an unidentified person found near a stream Tuesday, the state prosecutor’s office told The Associated Press.

Five others remained missing in Baja California, including three in Ensenada and a father and son who went fishing Saturday in San Felipe, on the Gulf of California, and never returned.

About 300 military personnel, police and rescue workers searched along Ensenada’s El Pipila stream Tuesday, while the Mexican Navy continued looking for the missing fishermen, state civil protection authorities said.

Floodwaters swept away vehicles, damaged homes and cut off access to some communities.

Johana Nuriulu, a resident of Ensenada’s Buena Vista community, said the flooding began overnight, shortly after heavy rain knocked out electricity.

“We heard a loud noise that sounded like ocean waves, but very intense,” she said. When she stepped outside, she discovered a nearby stream had overflowed.

“The water was sweeping everything away; it took a cabin ... animals, everything.”

Elsewhere near Ensenada, Mexican soldiers used helicopters to rescue 32 people, including 13 minors, from Rancho Genesis, a camp for orphans staffed by missionaries.

The army said 22 of those rescued were foreign nationals. Baja California Security Secretary Gen. Laureano Carrillo said they included Americans and Germans.

Simon was moving parallel to Mexico’s Pacific coast Tuesday, threatening more rainfall in Jalisco, Nayarit and Sinaloa.

The hurricane was centered about 180 kilometers (110 miles) west of Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco, with maximum sustained winds of 150 kph (90 mph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. It was moving west at 4 kph (2 mph).

In southern Guerrero state, Simon’s heavy rains toppled trees and utility poles, blocked roads and flooded homes in coastal communities, including the resort city of Acapulco, Gov. Evelyn Salgado said.

A 71-year-old person died when a wall collapsed in Chilpancingo, the state capital, she said.

Authorities also took preventive measures in the port city of Mazatlan, Sinaloa, ahead of the storm, national Civil Protection Coordinator Laura Velázquez said Monday.

Meanwhile, conditions were improving in the tourist destination of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, where residents began resuming normal activities as the rain subsided.

State authorities ordered schools to reopen Tuesday, while operations at Puerto Vallarta’s airport gradually resumed.

Silva Rey reported from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Associated Press writer Fabiola Sánchez contributed from Mexico City.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

A man stands at the entrance to a pier closed off with caution tape after the passing of Hurricane Simon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

A tourist walks on the beach after the passing of Hurricane Simon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

People walk on the beach after the passing of Hurricane Simon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)