Premier League CEO Richard Masters knows supporters want answers regarding the charges against Manchester City, which have been under review by an independent judicial panel for some time.

However, Masters stressed that confidentiality surrounding the legal proceedings remains necessary.

The 115 charges against Manchester City have not gone away. While they might not be at the forefront of the tabloids right now, there's still an independent judicial panel reviewing all of the charges filed against the club, dating all the way back to 2009.

People want answers, but processes like this can be rather long, drawn out, and incredibly time consuming.

The original charges were filed against City back in 2023 for supposed breaching of several different financial rules stretching from 2009 to 2018, but it is now understood that the number of charges has increased to 130 after amendments had been made to the initial charges.

As was expected when the charges were initially filed, the club have remained firm in their stance they did nothing wrong.

Richard Masters Explains Why the Case Remains Confidential

Recently speaking to Sky Sports, Premier League CEO Richard Masters touched base on the matter of the current charges against City, but stressed that confidentiality is still absolutely necessary despite the length of time it's taken for anything to come from the independent judicial panel assigned by the Premier League.

"Our rules are very clear about that – I have to keep everything confidential until we’re ready to hand down a decision and be clear about it. I can’t give any update on timing or what’s happening.

"There’s only one available route through this, which is to allow the process to take its course. It has taken longer than expected, and I do understand the frustrations," the Premier League CEO stressed.

Why the Long Wait Is Causing Frustration

Unfortunately, Master's words might fall on deaf ears as the length of time the whole process has taken adds a great deal of distrust that any sort of justice will be doled out.

Rather, the length of the process has also led to growing concerns among some observers about whether the case will ever reach a conclusion throughout the years they've been associated with Etihad Airways.

Football finance expert Stefan Borson has recently described the long wait for any sort of updates regarding the charges as "inexplicable," which is a sentiment certainly shared by large majorities of unbiased experts following the proceedings.

In the battle of optics, Masters is essentially in a lose-lose situation. It's been far too long after the initial hearing for there to have not been any progress made, but he has to maintain the stance that City are allowed to have their due process with everything.

There simply cannot be outside pressure affecting the case, but the longer time goes on, the more it does seem like nothing will come of it.

Why Other Financial Cases Have Raised Questions

While the sanctions placed against Everton and Nottingham Forest in recent seasons were different in financial semantics, both clubs admitted to their wrongdoings and were swiftly punished with points deductions in the Premier League.

Likewise, Crystal Palace were punished under the UEFA ruling of multi-club ownership violations, ultimately demoting them to the Europa Conference League from the Europa League.

For the matter of Everton, Forest, and Palace, it begs the question; why were Everton and Nottingham Forest's cases resolved relatively quickly, while Manchester City's proceedings have taken much longer?

Only time will tell when the case will reach its conclusion and what consequences, if any, will follow.