Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak was asked about the latest around the Premier League charges the club are facing
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak
Khaldoon Al Mubarak reiterated that Manchester City will speak openly about the Premier League charges they have faced for the last two years - once there is a ruling. It has been nearly two-and-a-half years since the Blues were accused of more than 100 breaches of Premier League regulations, with the prospect of serious punishment.
To the frustration of the entire footballing world, the wait for a verdict goes on. It took 18 months before the evidence could be heard and after nearly three months where that took place it has now been five without a published result. Pep Guardiola suggested it would come around February, in-the-knows were adamant it was coming at the beginning of the March international break, yet five months on from the hearing there is still no clue as to when the news will come out.
City chairman Al Mubarak was asked about the charges in his annual interview with club media, offering him the opportunity to say exactly what he wanted on the subject. Unsurprisingly, there was not much of an update to give.
“Well, I suppose the only thing I can say is we still don’t have a ruling. Once there’s a ruling, I’ll be able to speak about it," he said.
"Until then we just have to be patient, and it’ll come, and we will talk about it, I promise you, once we have the ruling.”
City's fall on the pitch, coupled with the time it has taken for the verdict to be reached and announced, appears to have dampened the appetite for news around the charges. Liverpool have won the Premier League for the first time since 2020 and are one of five English teams to have won a trophy this year, with Guardiola's side winless since the Community Shield last August.
And where once Al Mubarak would talk bullishly about the responses that would come once there was a full judgement, there is only so many times the same thing can be said. Like everyone else, City are still waiting.
Speaking recently on The Overlap, former United defender Gary Neville blasted the time it has taken with the case still unresolved.
"That Manchester City case is a disgrace; it's an absolute stain to the game," Neville said. "I have a lot of admiration for City, but I don't buy into this theory that clubs do really well, and City have, but it is still a stain to the game.
"It has just been dragging on for years and years, it's an absolute joke. Yes, City have been defending themselves, but they've been pushing it so far into the long grass that you end up losing the will to live on it and you forget about it. It just needs to be dealt with."
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