Man City’s war with EPL might not be settled until after the end of NEXT season

The Premier League's war with Manchester City over 115 alleged breaches of financial rules could not be resolved until NEXT season.

It emerged on Wednesday that the ongoing hearing in London on the case that has rocked the summit will not conclude until the middle of next month, after which both sides will have presented their closing arguments.

Mail Sport understands that a next judgment can only come after the current campaign has ended.

However, a call-up from the league or City – seen by many as inevitable given the high stakes – could take up to 12 months.

Such a situation would create a serious problem for competition and leave the problem unresolved well into the future.

As previously reported, clubs have raised concerns with the Premier League about the bill. Last season its costs rose to £48.1m, six times what it had budgeted for, much of which came from the 115 charges and the hearing into the parties' transactions, both of which involved City. City have also spent huge amounts of money on their defense.

The league has been investigating the champions for more than five years and given the number of charges, the case is considered very complex.

The Lawyer website reported that the hearing at London's International Dispute Resolution Center has been paused while both sides work on their closing statements.

A three-man committee will then withdraw to render a verdict, which could take several months.

Those with knowledge of the process have revealed that if an appeal is lodged, a resolution could take another 12 months.

The city's alleged violations allegedly occurred over a 14-year period. The charges include 54 counts of failure to provide accurate financial information from 2009-10 to 2017-18, five counts of failure to comply with UEFA rules including Financial Fair Play (FFP) from 2013-14 to 2017-18, 14 cases of failure to provide accurate details of player and manager payments from 2009-10 to 2017-18, seven breaches of Premier League Profit and Sustainability (PSR) rules from 2015-16 to 2017-18 and 35 cases of non-co-operation with Premier League investigations.

Allegations emerged from hacked material published in German media.

Should City be found guilty of some of the more serious charges, such as failing to accurately report financial information, they could face relegation or a huge points deduction.