The thing about an appeal being in secret is possible but it seems very inconsistent. Just been having a look at the FA decisions - most of the sanctions they announce are before any possible appeal. The one recent FA case where it was only announced after appeal was where Chelsea were breaking financial regulations. So I'm not sure if that was just a special case or if there was a specific reason. Even Man City's guilty verdict was announced before an appeal.
I've been thinking that the delay in the decision was due to an appeal but the more I think about it, surely it would have leaked out by now. I genuinely think the club have no idea what's going on or when there will be an announcement.