A decision on Manchester City's 115 charges case with the Premier League has yet to be delivered as the wait continues for a verdict.
The case has been open for more than two years. A three-man panel heard evidence from both sides in late-2024 and their decision is expected soon.
City boss Pep Guardiola suggested in February that a verdict could be communicated 'next month' but as we enter April there is still no indication as to when the news will drop. Here's the latest views of the football finance experts on the issue.
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'Some way away'
Financial expert Stefan Borson believes the verdict is still "some way away". Borson, who has worked as an advisor for City, told talkSPORT: “I think it’s a shame that we don’t know when it’s coming, actually.
"I think for the Premier League and for City from the very early stages they should have set out an expected timetable so you don’t have City fans, fans of other clubs and also probably most importantly City employees are wondering whether something that could be very transformational for the club is going to drop, so I think that they should have done more.
"When are we going to find out? In reality, we are now coming into the earliest practical period in which it could have been released. If you have a 12-week trial, it is going to take some time for the decision to be written up and for the decision to be made. They need to make sure and everything that they say in that decision is appeal-proof as possible.
"What no panel wants, what no tribunal wants, is for everything they have written to be immediately challenged either because it misrepresents what happened, what was heard, what was said, or in terms of the law. It gets undermined. It’s the negative, as of this weekend the club had not heard anything in terms of the decision.
"That is not a club source but I know that is the case. They also do not know the precise date on which they are going to learn the decision. The idea Pep’s been saying we’re due to here by whenever, Pep doesn’t know because nobody knows. The only people who know are the tribunal, and that has not yet been discriminated to the parties."
'We don't know'
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire insists no-one knows when the verdict will drop. And even when it does arrive, the decision might not offer a definitive outcome.
Maguire, speaking on " target="_blank" class="link"> The Overlap Fan Debate, said: "When it does come out, I think the big fear is that you get the verdict as to whether they're guilty or innocent of the 115 charges, but you don't get told what the punishment is - that could take longer. If you look at some court cases, somebody will be found guilty or not guilty, and then the judge goes away and considers it.
"I think that would really set the cat amongst the pigeons, but in terms of the actual date, I think Pep said that it was going to be in March - well, we've got to the end of March and no news. So, how long it will be, we don't know."
When asked if the decision would be made before the end of the current season, Maguire continued: "There's certainly a desire from the Premier League for it to come out [before the end of the season], because otherwise, we've got a hangover over the summer in terms of where does this leave clubs.
"If it comes out in July, for example, and Manchester City are given a 40 or 50-point deduction, then presumably one of Leicester or Ipswich will be saying, 'Well, if that had come out earlier, then we would have avoided relegation' - so, therefore, they might be putting in a legal case."
