At the conclusion of the Premier League’s shareholders meeting this week, a senior Manchester City official reportedly left club executives stunned. The Times said that Simon Cliff, City’s legal officer, seemed to doubt the intentions of certain clubs during recent votes.
According to the report, Cliff told Alison Brittain, the chairwoman of the Premier League, that he wanted the intervention recorded in the minutes, even though he did not name any clubs. Cliff’s remarks, which were recorded under the agenda’s “any other business” section, are also said to have dominated the club officials’ post-meeting talk. Cliff’s comments coincide with clubs still awaiting the resolution of City’s lawsuit against the Premier League. In February 2023, the Etihad Stadium team was accused of 115 violations of the Premier League’s financial regulations. The team has consistently contested the accusations, and a decision is anticipated shortly.
“No, no,” City manager Pep Guardiola responded when asked for an update on Friday. Nothing will change in another week, two weeks, three weeks, or four weeks because we have been dealing with this for more than a year.”
Last month, Premier League CEO Richard Masters was asked to address the unspoken issue of when City will likely find out their fate during the Financial Times’ Business of Football Summit. Unsurprisingly, however, he declined to comment on the possible verdict date.
“I won’t be discussing this, and you won’t be shocked by that. “I am unable to,” he said.
“The disciplinary panel has heard the case, so they need to be given the time and space to think things through and make a decision. I can’t really go any farther than that.”