Xabi Alonso, the Chelsea manager, faced questions about Manchester City and the latest developments in their case after they were found guilty of all charges relating to serious breaches of Premier League rules.
Chelsea host Bournemouth tomorrow, Saturday, at Stamford Bridge in the sixth round of the Premier League.
Football.London carried Alonso's comments from the press conference, where he said: "How important is the City case? Of course, there is a decision, but we have to be patient."
He continued: "We have to wait until the commission issues the final sanctions. I think its members have enough independence to assess all the circumstances."
"Of course, I am not an expert in this field," he noted, "and whatever I say or whatever our opinion is, they are the ones responsible for taking the decision, and we have to respect that and be patient. There will certainly come a time when we know what will happen, but it may take some extra time."
Alonso went on: "Firstly, there is the appeal. And after that, we have to wait until the commission announces the measures it will take, then we will see what happens. For us, the matter is not in our hands. I think we need to respect the independence of the judicial commission, and we will see what happens, with the need to abide by the rules."
Pressed further, he said: "I will not make a prejudgement, and I prefer to wait for the decision. We are approaching the final stage, and we have a clear picture of what might happen, but I was not a party to the case, and therefore it is not my problem."
On Chelsea's situation ahead of tomorrow's match, the Spaniard explained: "Moisés Caicedo is ready to feature. He has trained well, and he is now fine and ready to play."
He added: "Did João Pedro, Reece James and Palmer manage to train this week? Yes, they managed to train. Some of them started training before the others, and so did Marc Bellestra."
"We made use of this period, and that was the plan we set out," he said. "We knew we faced Brentford with some players who were struggling, but they have trained well now and have become ready to play."
On Palmer, he confirmed: "Palmer trained during the past week and felt better. We did not want to rush, because the time was available to us. The most important thing for Cole is to regain his full fitness, to enjoy his football and feel that he is in a good state. When he is not, as happened in the Brentford match, we can see that he is struggling."
There was bad news on another front. "How is Jamie Gittens? He will not be ready for tomorrow's match. This is the bad news related to the international break. He suffered an ankle injury, and he will be out for a few weeks."
Asked whether he would start Josh Acheampong, he remarked: "He has already played a few matches, and he is certainly ready to feature. He has started to play with greater maturity and greater ferocity, and he is beginning to understand what it takes to compete in the Premier League."
He concluded: "We will face a difficult encounter against a team that plays with great intensity and at a fast tempo, and facing them requires a lot of effort."