March 6 – Marseille are the latest high-profile European club to potentially face UEFA sanctions after being suspected of breaking Financial Fair Play rules.
UEFA said on Thursday a judging panel will rule on whether the French club breached an agreement imposed to settle a previous investigation for non-compliance with break-even requirements.
Marseille are in second place in the French league under coach André Villas-Boas and set to enter the lucrative Champions League group stage next season. But UEFA said the American-owned club “did not comply with the conditions” it agreed to for this season.
This deal required OM to have a maximum deficit of €30m in the year ending in 2020, €0 in 2021 and finally “to achieve full compliance with the threshold of profitability” in 2023.
If UEFA’s CFCB adjudicatory chamber decides to punish Marseille further, their exclusion from European competition is not out of the question.
The club insisted they were cooperating “fully and transparently” and said a project to relaunch had initially relied on fresh investment. They said they hope to be treated “fairly” by UEFA in their quest to become a competitive force again.
“Olympique de Marseille takes note of the decision of the investigatory chamber to forward the club’s file to the adjudicatory chamber of the Club Financial Control Body,” a statement read.
“Since the start of the project, OM have never hidden the need to invest massively with the capital of its shareholder to relaunch the club and once again display high ambitions.
“The club has now launched the second phase of its project, which makes economic sustainability and the return to financial equilibrium an essential objective.
“To this end, it collaborates fully and transparently with UEFA, and hopes to be treated fairly vis-a-vis other French and European clubs.
“This decision in no way alters the will of the club and its shareholder to continue building an OM that is sportingly ambitious and economically sustainable.”
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