The Premier League has no influence over the decision or timings of the case surrounding Manchester City’s multiple charges for alleged breaches of its financial rules, its chief executive Richard Masters has told Sky Sports News.
Back in 2023, City were charged with breaking financial fair play rules over a nine-year period, which started in 2009 and went on until 2018. They have also been charged with failing to co-operate with Premier League investigations into their finances.
When the Premier League charged City, its press release detailed alleged rules breaches that added up to 115 in number, but it is believed that the actual number is 130. Man City – who won three Premier League titles in this period – have denied all the charges.
A 12-week behind-closed-doors hearing ran between September and December of last year.
The timeframe between the hearing and the judgement from the independent panel presiding over the case was always expected to take several months due to the volume of charges and the amount of information to be reviewed.
However, there is currently no verdict with the 2025-26 season starting in just a matter of days.
Speaking on Wednesday, Masters told Sky Sports News: “I can’t talk about it. Our rules are very specific, they say we can’t talk about things as the charges are made and not until a decision has been published. We still await that decision, and I can’t talk about the timing and speculate when that may be.
“What I can tell you about is the system and how it works: it’s an independent judiciary. Once the allegations and charges have been put forward, they go before an independent panel which is independently selected. And they are then in charge of the process and its timings.
“They hear the case, they decide the outcome. We have no influence over that or its timing. And that’s right from an independent point of view, you have independent people making those decisions. And we just have to wait.”
Asked if he is frustrated by the long wait for a verdict, Masters replied: “My frustration is irrelevant. I just have to wait. Legal processes rarely take less time than anticipated. We have to be patient.”
Man City won the Champions League – sealing their first treble in the process – just weeks after the Premier League first announced the charges against them in 2023
Analysis: Frustrating delays – but no surprise with delicate situation
Sky Sports News’ Rob Dorsett:
“It is clear this legal battle between the Premier League and Man City is a very divisive one, but it is also clear it will be a defining moment in the recent history of English football – when the outcome is finally known.
“Right at the very start, it needs to be pointed out that City deny any wrongdoing. But there’s no doubt the ongoing delays are a source of real frustration for both them and the Premier League.
“I think the hope was that the matter would be resolved one way or the other a few months ago, and certainly before the start of this coming Premier League season. My latest interview with Richard Masters, the chief executive of the League, mirrored the questions I asked him 12 months ago, and his answers were inevitably similar – that it would be wrong for him to make any comment whilst an independent investigation is ongoing.
“It is absolutely true that the timescale is not now in the control of the league. They held the initial investigation and brought the charges, but once they had presented their case to the independent commission during the hearing 11 months ago, the matter was taken completely out of their hands.
“Equally, it would be wholly inappropriate – and would compromise the independence of the investigation – if the league were to try to put any form of pressure on the Commission to expedite its decision. They have not and will not do that.
“I have spoken to a number of legal experts in this area of sports law, who say they are not surprised at the seemingly pedestrian timeframe.
“You are talking about some of the top KCs in the country examining a huge raft of evidence and the separate, complicated legal and procedural arguments of City on one side, and the Premier League on the other.
“I’m told it was always to be expected that those top legal minds would take 12 months-plus to reach their decision – knowing just how significant that decision will be. Nevertheless, the timescale of this case makes difficult reading.
“The period under investigation when City are alleged to have breached the rules dates back to between 2009-2018, so even the most recent alleged offences were seven years ago.
“It was back in February 2023 when the Premier League publicly outlined the charges. They were brought just four months before City won the Champions League and completed the treble.
“The actual hearing, where lawyers from both sides presented their cases in front of an Independent Commission, lasted 10 weeks, starting in September 2024.
“So this most complex of cases has a long and inglorious past. But the Premier League, like City – and every football fan in this country – can do nothing but sit and wait for the Commission to reach and publish its decision.
“Still, we have no idea when that might come.”
