Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, who spent time as assistant to Guardiola at Manchester City prior to taking charge of the Gunners, said he will “respect the process” of the appeal.

“I think the timelines, it is still an ongoing process that is not resolved because it has been appealed,” he added.

“My position and the club’s position is not to make any further comment until it is resolved.

“It is a lot of noise around it and it is an ongoing process that is not resolved yet. I think we need to respect it.

“There is nothing in our hands and the only thing we can do is focus on everything that we can do. That is where we put the energy.”

Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola and Chelsea’s Xabi Alonso both stressed the need for patience following City’s appeal.

“I think uncertainty is not good for anyone and anyone involved, but the process is ongoing and we have to be patient like everyone else and see what happens at the end,” Iraola said.

Alonso added: “We need to wait for the final sanctions from the panel. I think they are independent enough to assess all the situations.

“We have to be patient for sure. It is out of our hands, we have to respect the independence of the panel and see what happens.”

Everton were deducted 10 points in November 2023 – in a punishment later reduced to six on appeal – and then docked two points in April 2024 in separate cases for breaches of profit and sustainability rules (PSR).

“I wasn’t here when it was difficult for Everton, when things were bad,” said Toffees boss David Moyes.

“Looking at it now from where I am sitting, it looks terrible that we have been docked points and pay some fines and not that long ago.

“There’s other things that have been going on – nearly 10 years ago – that have not been dealt with. I find that really difficult.

“I hope it’s not just Everton who are getting picked on here.”

Nottingham Forest were another club punished previously for breaching PSR rules, with the City Ground side docked four points in March 2024.

“There is no final verdict right now. That’s why I don’t see any point to comment on Man City because I can’t,” said Forest boss Oliver Glasner.

“But let’s say in general, if somebody cheats he needs to get punished. If not, then not. And of course, we all hope for the integrity of the game, for the integrity of the Premier League, that the final word is spoken soon.

“But we also know, I think there are thousands of pages to read. I read a book every night, and it takes quite long to read thousands of pages and also then find the final verdict, so it takes a little bit of time. We have to be patient, but yes, it should be soon.”

CORRECTION: Quotes that originally appeared in this section were wrongly attributed to Mikel Arteta rather than Enzo Maresca.