An independent group is ready to decide on the 115 accusations against Premier League winners City.
LONDON: Premier League boss Richard Masters says the legal cases against Manchester City and other top teams have caused ‘uncertainty and frustration’ before the new season.
An independent panel is ready to decide on the 115 charges against Premier League champions City for supposed financial violations during the season.
LONDON: Premier League boss Richard Masters admits the legal cases against Manchester City and other top teams like Leicester and Everton have caused ‘uncertainty and frustration’ as the new season approaches. These cases are related to alleged violations of the league’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).
When asked if these unresolved financial issues would impact the 2024/25 season, Masters told Sky Sports: ‘It does matter, and I understand it creates uncertainty and some frustration, but there is no better choice than to enforce the rules, which everyone agreed to at the start of each season.
They have looked each other in the eye, shaken hands, and agreed to follow these rules. So, the Premier League has to enforce them.
Whatever challenges or frustrations that brings is part of keeping and protecting the Premier League’s competition and its core values of fair play. That’s my role, and I want to keep doing it.’
City, who are aiming for an unprecedented fifth Premier League title in a row, have won the league twice since the charges, which they strongly deny, were brought in February last year.
Reports suggest that the hearing for City’s case could begin in September, but Masters refused to comment on a specific timeline.
‘I think it does need to be resolved,’ he said. ‘It’s not in our hands. It’s in the hands of an independent panel. They control the timing and the process, and we must let them do their job.’
City’s alleged violations involve rules that require accurate financial reporting and submitting details about manager and player pay in the correct contracts.
They also include the club’s responsibility as a Premier League member to follow UEFA’s financial regulations and the league’s own profitability and sustainability rules.
City is also accused of not cooperating with the Premier League’s investigation, which began in December 2018.
Last season, Everton and Nottingham Forest were docked points for PSR breaches, and those rules are still in place for the upcoming season, requiring clubs to keep losses below £105 million ($134 million) over three seasons.
‘I can’t speculate on whether there will be charges related to the 2023-24 PSR assessment period,’ Masters said. ‘You can only really judge it when you have audited accounts, and that process doesn’t start until near the end of the year.
