Gary Neville launched a tirade against Premier League CEO Richard Masters following his appearance before a select committee this week.
Concerns have been raised that the Financial Fair Play (FFP) hearing for Manchester City may not take place until after the current season has concluded after Gary Neville urged the Premier League to expedite the hearing in an effort to shed light on the situation.
The City team fully refutes the 115 charges made against them by the Premier League in February 2023 regarding their Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) violations. The nine-season era from 2009 to 2018, during which the Blues won the championship three times, is when these charges originated.
Everton has been penalized and docked ten points for their own FFP infringement, which is being appealed, since this announcement. On Monday, the Toffees and Nottingham Forest received notice that they would face more PSR issues; however, these cases have not yet been heard.
Richard Masters, the CEO of the top tier, disclosed that a date had been set for City’s hearing during a meeting of the Culture, Media and Sport select committee on Tuesday. However, he did not disclose the specific time of the hearing. Neville stated that the Premier League must take City’s case as quickly as possible on The Overlap podcast, which is presented by Sky Bet.
Despite acknowledging that the situation is far more complicated, I found it unsettling that Richard Masters stated a hearing date had been established but would not provide it. This suggested that, and I might be mistaken, we won’t enjoy the date and that it would likely take place in the summer, later in the year.
“It is in everyone’s best interests, including Manchester City, to move that matter along and complete it more quickly. It is unsustainable and detrimental to the Premier League.”
Neville continued, saying, “Some of the allegations against Manchester City are connected to the fact that they put costs that should have been within Manchester City into their operating company, which is the City Football Group, in order to get around the £105 million in three years that is permissible. The absurd theory, which may or may not be real, holds that Roberto Mancini received payment for appearances in the Middle East in addition to his regular salary.
“These charges need to be brought forward, even if it’s some of the simpler ones out of the 115 – there is a date set, but Richard Masters wouldn’t share it.” Ian Wright and Jamie Carragher agreed with Neville and pleaded with City to clean their identities as soon as possible.
Wright said, “The unfortunate predicament that we and the Manchester City players find ourselves in is that, despite the fact that as a team we are arguably playing some of the best Premier League football we have ever seen—with players pulling off incredible feats—the club’s owners owe it to the players to clear their names. We were gushing about Kevin De Bruyne’s accomplishments, for instance, but if they don’t resolve this, it will be a stain on his career. They owe it to the players to make things right.”
“Manchester City can fix this straight away,” Carragher went on. If you were in their shoes and you knew better, you would want to clear your record. It gets worse because of how long they are dragging this out.”
