By Andrew Warshaw
February 5 – Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who heads the European Club Association representing the interests of more than 200 clubs across the Continent, has urged UEFA to crack down on any big spenders who breach financial fair play regulations.
Rummenigge is also boss of European champions Bayern Munich and wants to make sure clubs like Bayern who behave prudently are not put at a financial disadvantage by foreign-backed rivals with unlimited spending power.
“UEFA will certainly not be pleased if clubs do not meet the criteria,” said Rummenigge, who was speaking at the SpoBis conference in his native Germany. “It is a must that the UEFA Financial Fair Play regulations are taken seriously.”
FFP regulations are due to be rigourously enforced as of July, with the ultimate sanction of clubs being thrown out of Europe. UEFA seem bound to face restraint of trade legal action should they dare to go that far but Rummenigge says all of Europe’s clubs must meet the challenge of balancing their books head on. “If it is not satisfied, I am convinced UEFA will take action. They knows this is a litmus test.”
Europe’s clubs have had a rolling transitional period in order to make sure they fulfill their obligations but Rummenigge controversially singled out Qatar-backed Paris St Germain as one club which, he said, needed to be scrutinised especially carefully.
“I cannot imagine that PSG complies with Financial Fair Play,” he told his audience. “The Bundesliga meets 100 percent of the conditions but that is not the case everywhere in Europe. We must return to a certain rationality and reason.”
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