‘Time to resolve’ Man City charges – Premier League chief

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters says it is “self-evident” the case around Manchester City’s 115 charges needs to be resolved for the good of the league.

An independent disciplinary commission is set to hear the case against City – who deny all charges – for allegedly breaching the Premier League’s financial rules, with some dating back to 2009.

In an interview with BBC sports editor Dan Roan, Masters said he thinks “it is time now for the case to resolve itself”.

When asked whether the case casts a shadow over the league, he said: “It’s been going on for a number of years and I think it’s self-evident that the case needs to be heard and answered.”

Masters said he “could not confirm” the specific date of City’s hearing. City were charged in February 2023.

However, BBC Sport understands the hearing is set to start next month, with the result possibly known early next year, as first reported by the Times.

Masters added: “When the case has been heard there will be a decision published and all the questions you would like me to answer will be answered as part of that process.”

In a separate legal case, City are also taking action against the Premier League over the organisation’s tightened rules over ‘fair’ sponsorship deals, but Masters said he was unable to comment as the processes were “entirely confidential”.

BBC Sport understands the result of that case is expected in the next few weeks.

Premier League clubs are trialing an alternative financial system that operates like a spending cap, alongside the existing Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

Top-flight clubs have faced difficulties with PSR – Nottingham Forest and Everton both received points deductions last season for breaches, with Leicester also charged.

Masters said the regulatory moves aim to create a situation where “we let the football do the talking”.

He added: “We want to move to a new system that people have confidence in and can comply with and move away perhaps from normalising asterisks against league tables or long-running regulatory cases.”

Premier League clubs have also been split over a ‘New Deal’ of funding the EFL, with the threat of a new football regulator on the horizon.

Masters said it was becoming increasingly tough to find “consensus for decisions”, but he does not believe the Premier League is more divided than ever.

“I genuinely don’t feel that,” he added.

“We have some issues we have to resolve and a number of cases that need to resolve themselves and I believe they’re going to do so.”

Masters said he did not envisage Premier League games being played in foreign countries, despite other leagues exploring the prospect.

In May, world governing body Fifa said it was setting up a working group to assess the potential impact of competitive domestic matches being played overseas.

Spain’s La Liga is hopeful of staging games in the United States in the 2025-26 season.

Masters said: “It’s not really clear what’s happening at Fifa. We know there’s been a court case in the US but what that means in terms of regulatory change at Fifa happening, whether it’s going to be permissible or not to play matches abroad, I don’t know.

“What I do know is that there are no plans to play matches abroad.”

With the new season approaching, concerns over player fatigue are once again in the spotlight. Masters said he wanted domestic football’s interests to be considered in any changes to the international match calendar.

In July, top European Leagues – including the Premier League – and global players’ union Fifpro announced they were launching legal action against Fifa over its “abuse of dominance” in the game.

However, Fifa accused some leagues of “commercial self-interest” and “hypocrisy”, arguing most players globally were not playing more football.

Masters said the Premier League has reached a point where they felt “enough is enough”.

“With Fifa, there is no consultation about big issues with the global calendar with the leagues and I know a number of the players’ unions feel the same,” he added.

“We want consultation on the future of the international match calendar, we want domestic football’s interests to be represented as part of that system, and we want the right decisions to be made for the future of the whole game.”

Fifa rejects claims there was no consultation in regards to the matchday calendar and addressed this in a letter sent to the Premier League on 10 May.

When asked how the Premier League could complain about player fatigue when many clubs go on pre-season tours around the world, Masters said: “Every squad has to prepare for a new season. And whether that is domestic or in Europe or around the world it’s up to clubs to decide.”

There are planned changes to the Video Assistant Refereeing (VAR) system for the 2024-25 Premier League season, including the introduction of semi-automated offsides “at some point”.

England’s top flight voted to keep the technology in June, with only Wolves voting in favour of scrapping it.

Although they have not decided to remove VAR, Masters said the Premier League see that “everyone wants to improve it”.

“The things we need to resolve are the length of delays and the supporter experience in the stadium,” he said.

“We’ve got semi-automated offsides coming in at some point this season when it is ready and we’re doing other things we think will help with supporter experience.”

He added that the division’s hands were “slightly tied” by global governing bodies’ rules on how the technology is allowed to be operated.

“We would like to do more and we’re trying to work with IFAB and Fifa to expand the experience for supporters in the stadium,” Masters said.