Premier League CEO Masters pleads for patience in Man City case

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters defended the league's judicial process on Wednesday amid criticism over the slow pace of Manchester City's disciplinary case involving 115 charges of alleged financial rule breaches.

Speaking at a Premier League season launch event in Liverpool, Masters said that once charges are brought forward, the matter is handed over to an independent panel, which operates autonomously.

"It's an independent judiciary essentially," Masters told Sky Sports. "They are then in charge of the process and its timings. They hear the case, they decide the outcome and we have no influence over it or its timing."

Masters refrained from speculating on when a decision might be reached, but acknowledged the frustration surrounding lengthy legal processes.

"My frustration is irrelevant really, I just have to wait. Legal processes rarely take less time than you anticipated. But we have to be patient," he said.

Masters also addressed speculation around staging Premier League matches abroad, after LaLiga's plan for a game between Villarreal and Barcelona in Miami received approval from the Spanish football federation (RFEF) on Monday.

He said the controversial "Game 39" concept of an extra competitive match hosted outside of Britain remained off the table.

"I think that (LaLiga) match that's been talked about, there's a long road to go yet about whether that will actually happen," Masters said.

"It hasn't changed our view about matches abroad. We did look at the 39th game way back when with lots of controversy... Our objective at the time was how to grow the Premier League around the world. We've been able to do that through different means," he said.

Masters also responded to concerns over the competitiveness