Manchester City's Premier League hearing hits two-year mark with no verdict in sight

Two years to the day since an independent commission began hearing more than 100 Premier League charges against Manchester City, the case remains unresolved — prompting a prominent sports barrister to condemn what he calls an “most incredible delay”.

The charges, relating to alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules, were formally laid in February 2023, though the league’s investigation stretches back to 2018. City have consistently and strenuously denied any wrongdoing.

Nick De Marco, a leading sports barrister who has represented clubs including Leicester City in separate Premier League disputes, drew attention to the milestone on Wednesday. Writing on X, he said: “It is a most incredible delay. So much for those who argue that one of the advantages of sports arbitration is it is speedier and more efficient than using the courts….” De Marco is not personally involved in the City proceedings, though his colleague at Blackstone Chambers, Lord David Pannick, has acted for City in the case.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters acknowledged last month that the process had taken longer than he anticipated, but played down suggestions that the delay was a dominant concern among top-flight clubs. “I obviously speak to clubs all the time. It’s not necessarily a topic of conversation that is top of the list,” he said at a media briefing ahead of the new season.

When asked whether the case risked never being resolved, Masters was unequivocal that a conclusion would come, even if he could not indicate when. “It will resolve itself. I literally can’t say a thing about it. There’s only one available option, which is to allow the process to reach its natural conclusion,” he said.

Masters also pushed back on suggestions that the league should introduce rules capping the length of deliberations or consider appointing full-time panellists. “We’ve always said that the commission need the time and space to do their work,” he said. “In the end, that process shouldn’t really be qualified by the amount of time it’s going to take to establish the truth.”

The case remains one of the most consequential in English football history. A guilty verdict on a significant number of charges could carry severe sporting sanctions for City, though the club’s continued denial of wrongdoing means any outcome, whenever it arrives, is likely to be fiercely contested.