Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has urged patience as the league’s case against Manchester City involving 115 alleged breaches of financial rules continues to face criticism over delays.
Speaking at the Premier League’s season launch event in Liverpool, Masters emphasised that, once charges are brought, the process is handled entirely by an independent panel.
“It’s an independent judiciary essentially,” he told Sky Sports. “They are in charge of the process and its timings. They hear the case, decide the outcome, and we have no influence over it or its timing.”
While declining to predict when a verdict might be delivered, Masters acknowledged the frustration over the lengthy process.
“My frustration is irrelevant really, I just have to wait. Legal processes rarely take less time than you anticipate. But we have to be patient.”
Masters also addressed speculation about staging Premier League fixtures overseas, following the Spanish football federation’s approval of LaLiga’s plan to host Villarreal v Barcelona in Miami.
He insisted the so-called “Game 39”, an extra competitive match outside Britain, remains off the agenda.
“It hasn’t changed our view about matches abroad. We did look at the 39th game way back when, with lots of controversy. Our objective then was to grow the Premier League globally, and we’ve achieved that in other ways.”
Responding to concerns over newly promoted teams struggling to survive, Masters noted that last season’s relegated trio Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton had all been promoted just the year before. The same happened in 2023–24 with Luton Town, Burnley and Sheffield United.
He pointed to positive examples from 2022–23, when Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Fulham came up and remained in the Premier League three years later.
“It’s never going to be easy. The Premier League is more competitive and the Championship is a fantastic division. We want different clubs coming in and out, but it’s something we need to keep an eye on.”
Masters confirmed that the newly created independent football regulator is expected to begin operations in October or November.
“We are the first major football nation to be regulated in this way. Naturally we have some concerns, but the regulator should not assume that football in this country is broken. All the key indicators are really positive, so it should intervene only where absolutely necessary.”
The new Premier League season begins on Friday, when defending champions Liverpool host Bournemouth.