Richard Masters responds after Premier League credibility questioned over Man City case

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has responded after being asked whether the extraordinary wait for a verdict in City’s long-running financial case has become a credibility issue for the competition.

City were charged by the Premier League in February 2023 over more than 100 alleged breaches of its financial rules, relating primarily to a period between 2009 and 2018.

The club have consistently denied wrongdoing.

An independent commission heard the case over 12 weeks between September and December 2024, but almost two years after that hearing concluded there is still no verdict.

That prompted BBC sports editor Dan Roan to ask Masters whether the length of the process had now become a credibility issue for the Premier League.

Masters admits Man City case has taken longer than expected

Masters was unable to provide any indication of when a decision might finally arrive, citing the confidentiality surrounding the independent process.

He did, however, make one significant acknowledgement.

“It has taken longer than expected,” Masters told reporters, adding that he understood the frustrations surrounding the continued wait.

Masters defended the independence of the commission and insisted it must be given sufficient time and space to establish the facts.

That distinction is important. The Premier League chief did not accept that the competition’s credibility had been damaged by the delay, but the fact the question is now being put to him reflects the extraordinary timescale involved.

When the hearing concluded in December 2024, a decision had initially been anticipated within several months. That timetable has long since passed.

City have maintained their innocence throughout and, when the charges were originally announced, said they welcomed the opportunity for an independent commission to consider what they described as a comprehensive body of evidence supporting their position.

For City, the Premier League and the rest of English football, the position therefore remains unchanged: the wait continues, with no public timetable for when it will finally end.