Europe news
Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain are among a number of clubs who have been offered settlements for breaching financial fair play (FFP) rules.
• Marcotti: What does it all mean?
UEFA’s club financial control board (CFBCB) has made offers to all the clubs deemed to have breached the rules ahead of its meeting on Thursday.
The clubs, which the Press Association reports total fewer than 20 and include City and PSG, can either accept the offer of the sanctions — which could consist of a reprimand or fine or restrictions on the squad for European competition next season — or they could try to negotiate a lesser punishment.
If no agreement is reached, then the outstanding cases will go to an adjudicatory panel for a final decision.
It is not known what settlements each individual club has been offered but UEFA could reveal the outcomes as early as Friday.
The most powerful sanction — exclusion from European competition — is not expected to be used against any of the clubs, with UEFA president Michel Platini telling Le Parisien last week: “If you are expecting blood and tears, you’ll be disappointed.”
However, UEFA’s chief of press, Pedro Pinto, subsequently stressed on Twitter that Platini did not play a part in the decision and that the CFBCB would ultimately rule on punishments.
Michel Platini clarifies position on Financial Fair play. Hopes there will be no exclusions but reminds media he is not involved in process.
— Pedro Pinto (@PedroPintoUEFA) April 25, 2014
Michel Platini clarifies he never confirmed there would be no exclusions as a result of Financial Fair Play process. Independent body decides
— Pedro Pinto (@PedroPintoUEFA) April 25, 2014
City boss Manuel Pellegrini said last week there had never been any concern that the club would be excluded from the Champions League for breaching FFP rules.
The English club have been working closely with UEFA to try to ensure they comply with spending rules, which limit losses to 45 million euros over the last two years.
Pellegrini said: “I felt here inside the club nobody feared we could be suspended for next year.”
Qatar-owned PSG have been the club under most scrutiny after they wiped out their losses with a huge and back-dated sponsorship deal with the Qatar Tourist Authority. Platini had said last week he was unsure if that “innovative” sponsorship deal with a related party played by the rules.
He said in Le Parisien: “I will say simply that Paris St Germain’s financial model is distinctive and atypical. That image contract with the QTA, the tourism office of Qatar, is innovative, that’s all I can say. But is it viable? Is the value of the contract correct? These are questions that the experts must decide.”
PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi recently told Canal Plus that he did not believe his club had breached the regulations, saying: “We’re well within the UEFA rules. There’s no problem. We’ll see, we’re talking with UEFA… I’m very confident.”
According to Le Parisien‘s sources, PSG are likely to be fined “tens of millions of euros” and given a year to respect several financial objectives.
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