By Mark Baber
September 23 – UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) investigatory chamber has temporarily withheld the prize money of six clubs involved in the 2013/14 UEFA club competitions who have “important overdue payables towards other clubs and/or towards employees or social/tax authorities.”
The CFCB, chaired by former Belgian Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene, has, as part of the financial fair play (FFP) requirements, been examining the finances of clubs participating in this year’s UEFA club competitions and in particular the status of overdue payables as of 30 June 2013.
Significant overdue payables towards other clubs and/or towards employees or social/tax authorities have been found in the cases of FC Astra Ploieşti (ROU), FC Metalurh Donetsk (UKR), HNK Hajduk Split (CRO), HŠK Zrinjski (BIH), Skonto FC (LVA) and Trabzonspor AŞ (TUR) who have been competing in the Europa League.
These clubs will not be paid their prize money until all identified balances have been settled in full, or until a final decision by the CFCB adjudicatory chamber is taken
A further 25 unnamed clubs have been ordered to submit further information and will be monitored.
According to UEFA, the introduction of the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations has already had a positive impact on the scale of overdue payables which have decreased from €57 million in June 2011 to €9 million in June 2013.
UEFA’s latest benchmarking report on FFP shows that there has been a €600m reduction in aggregate losses reported by Europe’s first-division clubs in the 2012 financial year, following six previous years of escalating losses.
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