UEFA withholds prize money of 23 European clubs as it demonstrates it means business with regards to policing its Financial Fair Play (FFP) Rules. Alex Miller reports.
Despite a wave of extravagant transfer spending, Premier League champions Manchester City and Champions League holders Chelsea maintain they intend to abide by FFP rules - but the duo remain the most serious doubts in British football over their ability to meet their financial obligations, as UEFA revealed its first wave of club punishments for clubs with overdue payables.
Europa League and Super Cup holders Atletico Madrid are among 23 clubs to have had prize money temporarily withheld as UEFA carried out its first major sanctions on clubs with “important overdue payables towards other clubs and/or towards employees or social/tax authorities as at 30 June 2012”.
Malaga, Sporting Lisbon and Fenerbahce are among other high-profile clubs currently competing in European competition who have had monies frozen.
Although no British club was among the 23 clubs affected, the UEFA sanctions are a clear warning from UEFA to all clubs to ensure they tidy up their financial affairs.
UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body’s (CFCB) investigatory chamber, chaired by former Belgian Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene, has withheld the clubs’ prize money pending further investigation.
UEFA said in a statement: “Consequently, the CFCB investigatory chamber will continue their investigations and request these clubs to provide an updated situation as of 30 September 2012 with regards to overdue payables towards other clubs, employees and social/tax authorities. This conservatory measure will remain into force until all identified balances have been settled in full or until a final decision by the CFCB adjudicatory chamber is taken.”
The FFP rules are designed to ensure clubs live within their means over a three-year rolling period. They don’t come into full effect until the 2013-14 season, but the 2011-12 campaign marked the first included in the initial assessment.
Clubs competing in European competition will be permitted to lose just €45m over these three years with sanctions for FFP transgressors set to be imposed in the 2014-15 season and may include TV money withheld, transfer bans or even bans from European club competitions.
Premier League clubs have already debated the implementation of their own version of FFP, proposing to effectively introduce a cap on wages.
The Premier League is considering the introduction of rules to control escalating player wages before the huge influx of cash from the next television deals starting next season.
Some clubs feel strongly that the new TV deal (£3bn already secured from the UK rights) should not be swallowed up by a new wave of pay inflation. But any rule change will require 14 of the 20 Premier League clubs to agree - and it is not clear whether sufficient clubs will be in favour of strengthening financial regulations.
Manchester United and Arsenal, both of whom made profits in 2010-11, are understood to favour rules similar to UEFA’s - but clubs including Man City and Tottenham are considered unlikely to support such a move.