Premier League's Man City Investigation "Taking Too Long", Says Committee Chair

A senior Conservative MP has criticised the boss of the Premier League for talking of “small clubs” and said the organising body's investigation into Manchester City rule breaches is “taking too long”, which is “unfair” to fans.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters told the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in January that he did "understand the issue and I have tried to separate the two" when asked whether smaller clubs should be expected to front the same legal costs as wealthy football giants. 

"I have said that those standard directions are for everybody. They are not just for small clubs," Masters said. 

In a letter to the committee following the hearing, Masters insisted that Premier League profitability and sustainability rules apply equally to all clubs. “It would be incorrect to infer from this that there is any unfair treatment based on club size,” he said.

Now in a new interview with The House magazine, Caroline Dinenage, who chairs the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said: “It does sometimes feel like there's some kind of two-tier system here.

“When the boss of the Premier League came and gave evidence to the select committee, he spoke about ‘big clubs’ and ‘small clubs’.

“The whole committee found that a little bit puzzling, because actually there shouldn't be a different standard of behaviour depending on the size of the club.”

Dinenage also made clear she was unhappy about the length of the Premier League’s investigation into 115 charges against Manchester City, which they deny. The allegations against the club were confirmed in February 2023 after a four-year investigation.

“It's taking too long, and it feels unfair to teams like Everton for whom the decisions have been already made and the