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Gary Neville has voiced his indignation at the protracted Manchester City saga involving 115 charges, branding the lack of a decision as a "disgrace" to the beautiful game. The
club has been grappling with these accusations from the Premier League for events stretching from 2009 to 2018, which only became public knowledge in February 2023. Despite Manchester
City's steadfast rebuttal of any wrongdoing, the proceedings that kicked off in September of the previous year wrapped up in December, yet without any conclusion being reached. Even
though manager Pep Guardiola alluded in February to the possibility of a verdict arriving within a month, clarity still eludes everyone as the 2024/25 season concludes this Sunday. In a
Q&A session for The Athletic, journalist David Ornstein was pressed for updates on the charges, to which he tersely replied: "Zero." The matter also surfaced during The Overlap
Fan Debate, sponsored by Sky Bet, where Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, and Jamie Carragher discussed the issue, with football finance expert Kieran Maguire also contributing to the dialogue,
reports the Manchester Evening News. Neville has now delivered his opinion on the protracted affair, which has been causing controversy for a considerable span. The former United star
passionately insists that the opaqueness surrounding the case is casting a shadow over football and he's demanding a more prompt conclusion. "That Manchester City case is a
disgrace; it's an absolute stain to the game," he expressed, revealing his intense disapproval. "I have a lot of admiration for City, but I don't buy into this theory
that clubs do really well, and City have, but it is still a stain to the game. "It has just been dragging on for years and years, it's an absolute joke. Yes, City have been
defending themselves, but they've been pushing it so far into the long grass that you end up losing the will to live on it and you forget about it. It just needs to be dealt with."
Maguire, who has offered insights into the matter previously, has envisaged that some allegations will find favour with the Premier League while suggesting that City have historically
possessed an "upper hand" over the league. And he mentioned Newcastle United takeover lawyer Nick DeMarco has given his view on how it will play out. Maguire postulated: "I
think we will see some sort of transitional rule with the APTs," while detailing recent developments at Brighton, referencing Tony Bloom's loans being converted. "We have
already seen Brighton's loans from Tony Bloom have been converted into something that is between shares and debt." He also noted active dialogues involving several parties:
"There will be discussions taking place between clubs, lawyers and accountants as to how existing loans can be reclassified as equity. Therefore, that will assist things going forward.
"I think, based on historical evidence, that City have got the upper hand over the Premier League. Nick DeMarco thinks it will be a score draw where the Premier League will win some of
the 115 charges, but City will have a far stronger case in others." City have already secured a triumph in the legal sphere against the Premier League, following a resolution from an
independent adjudicating body earlier in the year that ruled the Associated Party Transaction (APT) regulations were null and non-binding.