UEFA Financial Fair Play rules gain crucial European Commission backing

By Andrew Warshaw in Istanbul

March 21 – Over-ambitious clubs who try to flout Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules by taking UEFA to court were warned to think again today after the European Commission confirmed the regulations were legally compliant.

In a “decisive step” on the road to forcing clubs to reduce losses and live within their means, a 14-point statement signed jointly by the Commission and UEFA appeared to close any legal loopholes by asserting that the principles of FFP were in line with European policy and could not be challenged.

The agreement follows months of complex talks between UEFA President Michel Platini and Joaquín Almunia, European Commission vice-president and Commissioner for Competitions – the very department that would rule on any complaints citing competition law.

The two men, with their respective aides, have been working together to try and find a common approach to ensuring that forcing clubs to balance the books can fit within the framework of European law.

Platini said the new accord was a “decisive step to secure a prosperous and stable future for European football”.

Almunia added: “I fully support the objectives of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules as I believe it is essential for football clubs to have a solid foundation.

“The UEFA rules will protect the interests of individual clubs and players as well as the football sector in Europe as a whole.”

The joint statement, issued following a two-day UEFA Executive Committee meeting here that precedes tomorrow’s full 53-nation Congress, was further endorsed at a news conference by UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino.

“It certainly reaffirms what we have always said, that Financial Fair Play is legal,” Infantino (pictured) told reporters.

“If anyone was thinking of filing some sort of complaint saying Financial Fair Play somehow restricts European competition law, they would have to file it to the Commission.

“This is a big milestone in enforcement of the break-even principle.”

Clubs like Manchester City, who incurred losses of £197 million ($312 million/€236 million) for the most recent financial year, will be especially vulnerable when Financial Fair Play, which is already being tested, starts to fully bite with possible sanctions in 2014-15.

Recently clubs like Glasgow Rangers, Servette and Neuchâtel Xamax have found themselves in deep crisis because of financial mismanagement.

“It is not our ambition to be dictators but it makes us all sad to see what is happening today in countries like Switzerland and Scotland where some traditional clubs are going bust for whatever reason,” Infantino said.

“If there is anything positive to come out of it, it is that these clubs have opened the eyes of those who maybe still have their eyes closed.

“It shows more control is needed.”

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