Richard Masters: Frustration over wait for Man City case decision ‘irrelevant’

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters says he and everyone else will have to continue to be patient as the wait for a decision in the Manchester City case continues. Picture: Nick Potts/PA

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters says any frustration he might feel over the time it is taking to reach a decision in the Manchester City case is “irrelevant” and says he and everyone else will “have to be patient”.

The Premier League issued more than 100 charges against City in February 2023 related to alleged breaches of its financial rules and with allegedly failing to co-operate with the subsequent investigation, and referred the matter to an independent commission.

City have always strenuously denied any wrongdoing.

The case was heard by a commission between September and December last year but no decision has been published.

The issue continues to hang over the league as the 2025-26 season gets under way this weekend, with Masters reiterating his organisation has no control or say over the timings.

Asked by Sky Sports News why the league could not hurry the process along, Masters said: “I can’t answer that specific question. What I can tell you about is the system and how it works.

“I mean, it’s an independent judiciary, essentially. So once the allegations, the charge has 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, and we have no influence over that, over it or its timing.

“And that’s right, if you think from an independence point of view, that there is independent people making those decisions, and we just have to be waiting.

“My frustration is irrelevant, really. I mean, I just have to wait, and legal processes rarely take less time than you anticipated, but we have to be patient.”