Lisa Nandy says owners are custodians and the regulator can act, but "We're not there yet"
Lisa NandyCulture Secretary (Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport), in a talkSPORT interview
Speaking to talkSPORT, Nandy said investors who own clubs are custodians with a responsibility to uphold the rules, and that the government gave the regulator the power to act if a club is not in safe hands. She said City has the right to defend itself and that the matter has not reached that point.
“I want to be crystal clear that, whilst we are really grateful to investors who come from all over the world to invest in our clubs and help to ensure their viability and their success, they are custodians, both of their clubs and of the game ... They have a responsibility to play by the rules and uphold the rules. ... We’re not there yet. It's absolutely right that Manchester City get the right to defend themselves and they do strongly refute the allegations. But in the event that they do not believe that a club is in safe hands, we’ve fought tooth and nail to give the Independent Regulator the power.”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Regulator says it can force Manchester City's Abu Dhabi owners to sell if it finds them unfit; Carragher says they must sell up, and Burnham says he would be concerned to lose them
On September 29, 2026, the Premier League published an independent commission's finding that Manchester City arranged sponsorship contracts it described as shams to disguise funding from its owner between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons. City denies wrongdoing and has appealed. The findings opened a second argument, over whether the club's Abu Dhabi owners, led by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, should keep the club if the findings stand. Jamie Carragher wrote that the owners must sell up, and Gary Neville said it was hard to see how they could pass the owners' and directors' test. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he would be really concerned to lose them. The Independent Football Regulator, which can judge whether owners are suitable, says it can require an owner to step away but will not make a judgement while the appeal is pending.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Sports Illustrated article quoting Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy's talkSPORT interview on club owners and the regulator's powers, and Kogan's Times Radio interview on political interference.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Sports Illustrated reported the interview on October 15, 2026. It says Nandy told talkSPORT that if the allegations are upheld at appeal, the regulator can investigate the ownership and, at its most extreme, compel the owners if it believes they are not fit to run the club.
After the quotation
Sports Illustrated says the government will not intervene in the process. It also quotes regulator chair David Kogan telling Times Radio that the regulator has had no political interference and will look closely at the evidence once the appeal has been heard.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Nandy says owners must uphold the rules and the regulator can act if a club is not in safe hands, but she makes any action depend on the appeal and says City is entitled to defend itself. We labeled it Mixed or conditional.
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More from this case
Read the full caseDavid Kogan says the regulator can make an owner step away but he will not be pushed into a judgement on City
“I am not going to get pushed into making any judgement on this until we've seen all of those questions being answered, and then we will have to decide whether we're going to mount our own investigation and come to a conclusion on that and what we're going to do. And pre-empting that would be a colossal mistake. ... 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”Read statement
Gary Neville says it is hard to see how City's owners could pass the owners' and directors' test if the verdict stands
“It’s hard to see how the Man City owners can comply with the owners’ and directors’ test in this country if the verdict remains. The reality is, because of improper owners of clubs, there are a lot stricter rules in place. It’ll be difficult for the Man City owners to retain their status. Clubs are protected assets, community assets, because of the meaning of them to fans and people of a city, so owners have to comply with the rules and laws set out in the test. The only appropriate punishment is to apply the owners’ and directors’ test, firstly, and then to look at the achievements over the period and determine whether they should still stand.”Read statement
Louie French calls Burnham's backing of Manchester City's owners "frankly extraordinary"
“Andy Burnham’s intervention in support of Manchester City’s owners is frankly extraordinary. The club face unprecedented allegations and fans are horrified by what they are reading in the papers, yet Burnham is publicly backing the owners even as the investigation continues.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Lisa Nandy says owners are custodians and the regulator can act, but "We're not there yet"". First published: 2026-11-15. Last updated: 2026-11-15. https://disputeindex.com/events/9037-speaking-to-talksport-nandy-said-investors-who-own