Premier League CEO Richard Masters refused to be drawn on questions surrounding the apparent delay to the league’s ongoing legal case against Manchester City.
City were charged with 115 breaches of Premier League regulations in February 2023, with the formal hearing concluding on December 6 last year. Over eight months later, the independent three-person panel has not released any decision.
Asked at a media event on the eve of the Premier League season whether he was disappointed with the length of the process, Masters replied: “I really can’t comment and there are very good reasons for that. As you know, our rules are very clear.
“I can’t talk about the process in any aspect between the period when allegations and charges are announced until a decision is handed down, and it would be wrong for me to speculate about when or whether there are any frustrations in the system.”
Two weeks ago, the Premier League’s handbook was updated to include a clause that all judicial panel members would be required to devote “sufficient time, diligence and industry to ensure the expeditious and efficient conduct of the arbitration”.
Later, Masters added: “This is an independent panel independently selected. And they’re in charge of the case. They’re in charge of the process and the timings. We have no influence over that. So we have to be patient and wait for these things to happen.
“Our rules state when a decision is handed down at some point, it will be made public. And I’m sure that’s going to be the case here.”
The executive insisted that this update did not reflect the length of the case against City, which is commonly regarded as the most complex and hotly-fought in Premier League history.
“At all times, (and) it’s got nothing to do with any particular case going on, it’s just about improving the efficiency of our judicial system,” he said. “As you know, we constantly bend the rulebook to try and make it more efficient whilst preserving all of the things you need in a properly functioning system.”
This has been a testing process for Masters, with Premier League clubs seemingly at loggerheads over the process, a feeling of discord heightened by several high-profile battles over updates to the league’s profitability and sustainability (PSR) and associated party transaction (APT) regulations.
Masters batted away questions over whether a negative outcome for the Premier League would lead to his resignation.
“You’re asking me to speculate on the outcome of the case,” he said. “I’m not going to do it. That’s all I can say.”
(Photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
