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Richard Masters has shed light on a possible timetable for Manchester City’s imminent trial after being accused by the Premier League of 115 breaches of the organisation’s financial rules.
Mail Sport previously reported that the trial was likely to begin in late autumn this year, almost a year and a half after it emerged that the club had been charged in February 2023.
Manchester City will defend themselves against the allegations at a hearing overseen by an independent panel in possibly the biggest case of its kind in the competition’s history.
The alleged breaches cover a period of over 9 years and are alleged to span from 2009, a year after Sheikh Mansour bought the club in 2008, to 2018, when the Premier League opened an investigation into the club.
Since the charges were announced, both the Premier League and the club at the center of the investigation have shared few details ahead of the hearing.
But the Premier League chief executive hinted the hearing will take place sooner rather than later in remarks on Friday.
Richard Masters sheds light on upcoming hearing into Manchester City’s alleged 115 financial rule breach charges
according to the TelegraphMasters said the hearing would take place in the “near future.”
“We cannot comment on the case, the date is set,” Masters added. “The case will resolve itself at some point soon.”
Although the news that the process will begin before the end of next year is likely to be a relief to those following the trial, reaching an agreement could prove even more complex.
Mail Sport reported that Pep Guardiola’s side may not see a resolution to the case before the end of the 2024-25 season in November last year.
Delays could further delay the process, as could a possible appeal against a club verdict.
However, Man City cannot make any further appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where they successfully overturned UEFA’s Champions League ban.
The charges against the club include allegations over financial reporting and failure to cooperate with the Premier League investigation six years ago.
The city denies any wrongdoing.
Masters also used his appearance at the 48th European Leagues General Assembly press conference in London on Friday to highlight player welfare issues regarding the number of matches in which top division players participate, emphasizing that the calendar was at a “turning point.”
“Something’s got to give,” Masters added, referring to the busy schedules.
Pep Guardiola is one of the many voices that share the Masters’ opinion on the ‘turning point’ of the matches
The CEO is just one of the latest voices to speak of concern over the number of games players play in more than one calendar year.
Guardiola himself used his post-match comments after his Manchester City side booked their place in the FA Cup semi-final to denounce his players’ schedule as “unacceptable”.
Both Rodri and Bernardo Silva have also expressed concern about their schedules in recent weeks, with Silva stating after the 1-0 win against Chelsea at Wembley that he had played with a minor injury.
“I wasn’t good at all,” he said, echoing Guardiola’s opinion on the schedule. ‘It’s too much. It wasn’t even because the FA didn’t give us the chance to recover. It seems like they don’t care because we’ve said it many times.
