Alonso urges patience over Manchester City case as Chelsea focus on Bournemouth

Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso says the club must wait for the outcome of the process involving Manchester City, after the Premier League champions were found guilty of all charges relating to serious breaches of the competition’s rules.

Chelsea are preparing to host Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Saturday in the sixth round of the Premier League season.

Asked about the significance of the case and its latest developments, Alonso said a decision had been reached but that the process was not yet complete.

“Of course it is important, but we have to be patient,” he said at his news conference, in comments reported by Football.London.

“We have to wait until the committee announces the final sanctions. I believe its members have enough independence to assess all the circumstances.”

The Chelsea manager stressed that he was not qualified to offer a definitive assessment of the case and said any views expressed by him or others would not determine the outcome.

“I am certainly not an expert in this area,” Alonso said. “Whatever I say, or whatever our opinion may be, they are the people responsible for making the decision. We have to respect that and remain patient.

“The time will certainly come when we know what is going to happen, but it may take some additional time.”

Alonso said the next stage would involve an appeal before the committee sets out the action it intends to take.

“First, there is the appeal,” he added. “After that, we have to wait for the committee to announce the measures it will take, and then we will see what happens.”

The former manager of Bayer Leverkusen said the matter was beyond Chelsea’s control and that the club had to respect the independence of the judicial process.

“For us, it is not in our hands,” Alonso said. “I think we need to respect the independence of the judicial committee and see what happens, while making sure we follow the rules.”