Manchester City and Arsenal remain neck-in-neck for the Premier League title. Both teams have the chance to end the night with the Premier League title in their cabinet. Pep Guardiola‘s Manchester City is in pole position to lift the title with the team just needing a win in their last game to seal the title. Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta‘s Arsenal, on the other hand, needs to ensure a win over Everton with the hope West Ham United takes points away from Man City.

With the stakes at all-time, high Premier League CEO Richard Masters was seen in attendance at Arsenal’s Emirates stadium ahead of the kick-off. Many would have expected Masters to be present at the Etihad, considering Man City the favorites for the title. However, the Premier League CEO had reasons for snubbing the reigning champions and it’s got nothing to do with the FFP charges against the team!

Talking about his absence from the Etihad Stadium, Richard Masters stated, “Obviously, whoever wins the league title today, we are going to put on a fitting finale for whoever wins it. But I am afraid it is not particularly scientific. There are no protocols involved, but after Tuesday night’s match between Spurs and Man City, I had a chat with our chair, Alison Brittain, and this is the plan we came up with. It is no more simple than that.”

Fans on social media claimed Masters wasn’t present at the Etihad, with the Premier League CEO reluctant to hand the team the title after the FFP scandal. However, that seems to be far from the case. Manchester City’s run this season has been marred by the allegations against the team. According to the Premier League authorities, Pep Guardiola’s side has breached 115 FFP regulations with the oldest breach dating to 2009. However, the legal dispute has been going on for the last 15 months with rival fans slowly losing hope over the Sky Blues being fined for their alleged act!

Pep Guardiola speaks on Manchester City’s FFP scandal

Pep Guardiola addressed the accusation against this team last year after Everton were docked 10 points for breaching the financial fair play rules. The Spaniard defended the club, claiming people should stop acting as if the verdict is already out.

Guardiola stated, “I will answer when I have the sentence. You are questioning, like we have been punished. And at the moment, we are innocent until guilt is proven. I know the people want it. I know, I feel it, I will wait. Wait and see it and after the sentence has been done, we will come here and explain it.”

Early reports suggested that Manchester City would be relegated to the Championship or even below that if the charges stood against the defending champions. However, with how things have panned out so far, fans expect the reigning champions to walk out unscathed from the debacle. Do you think Manchester City will be relegated from the Premier League if proven guilty? Let us know in the comments below.