By Andrew Warshaw
April 16- As the Uefa panel responsible for policing financial fair play entered the second of a key two-day meeting today to examine which clubs were still in breach, a London-based specialist has warned that unless Europe’s governing body shows sufficient teeth, its strict cost-control rules may still be flouted.
As FFP starts to bite, UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body’s (CFCB) investigatory chamber, headed by former Belgium prime minister Jean-Luc Dehaene, is drawing up a list of clubs under threat of sanction for falling foul of break-even regulations.
Unconfirmed reports have suggested that Manchester City and Paris St Germain, both backed by powerful Middle East investors, are especially vulnerable and Faye Bargery, a Senior Associate at law firm Thomas Eggar with special knowledge of FFP, says the key in the coming months will be the type of penalties imposed by Uefa. Unless they are harsh enough, she suggests, there is a risk that non-compliant clubs will continue to operate as they have been, especially given the need for the biggest names to compete in the Champions League.
“While it appears that presently UEFA is not looking to expel either club (City and PSG) from UEFA competitions, many will feel that unless a fine or other sanction is significant then clubs will continue to breach the rules as the rewards outweigh the risks,” says Bargery.
“All eyes will therefore be on UEFA to see what sanctions the clubs receive, bearing in mind the conflict UEFA has of ensuring its competitions continue to be attractive to fans and media alike by having the biggest clubs in Europe participating.”
“It appears that at the heart of the issue of whether Manchester City and Paris St-Germain have breached FFP rules are the significant commercial deals entered into by both clubs recently, as well as their inclusion in testing whether the rules have been breached.
“As the Manchester City commercial deal is with a party related to their owners the deal will need to pass a ‘market value’ test. While UEFA will no doubt use independent experts, the ability to put a market value on sponsorship deals is incredibly difficult and with deal values fluctuating all the time this is an area where any sanction could be open to challenge.”
Although Uefa have made it clear they are fully prepared for any legal backlash, Bargery says the next few months will be critical in in terms of the organisation’s credibility.
“With the right to challenge any sanction open to clubs and some clubs already stating they will use that right, it is very likely that if UEFA do start imposing sanctions we will see our first appeals against the rules,” she said.
“These first cases may give a clear indication of how enforceable the rules are and how they will be interpreted and imposed. The coming few months will therefore be critical for both UEFA’s credibility and clubs who may be in breach of the rules.”