Former Man City chief delivers 'worried' Premier League verdict on 115 FFP charges

Former Manchester City chairman David Bernstein has delivered his verdict on the Premier League's independent hearing over the club's 115 alleged charges.

City have been charged with breaking financial fair play rules over a nine-year period, which started in 2009 and went on until 2018. The hearing - which started on Monday - is anticipated to last approximately two months, although the verdict is not expected to be made public until spring 2025 at the earliest.

If found guilty, the sternest punishment is relegation, while points deductions and fines are also potential penalties. Delivering his opinion on the matter, Bernstein, who was chairman of City between 1998 and 2003, told Sky Sports: "I am not surprised it has got to this stage.

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"There are 115 charges, they cover a wide period of time, and on the surface they are serious charges and have to be answered. In a way, they should have got this resolved somewhat earlier but these things do take time."

Bernstein, 81, added: "I am a City fan, as well as being an ex-chairman, and I am worried. On the surface they look to be serious charges. City will have the best lawyers, they will defend themselves as they absolutely have the right to do and we will see, this is really heavy stuff.

"What is great is that the club has come from where it was - it was a club that was underperforming for many years - to become arguably the greatest performing club of all-time with four Premier League [titles] in a row.

"To have the possibility of that being tarnished is really sad, but we will see