By Andrew Warshaw
December 22 – In one of their strictest sanctions since pledging to crack down on clubs who don’t comply with financial rules, UEFA have slapped a one-season European ban on high-flying Spanish club Malaga because of unpaid bills.
A further five eastern European clubs from Croatia, Romania, and Serbia, will be similarly banned, while two clubs from Serbia and the Ukraine have been fined.
Malaga’s suspension will not affect the current campaign, a relief to the Qatari-owned club that is in its first season in the
Champions League and into the last 16 playoffs. The ban will apply if they qualify for Europe in any of the next four seasons.
The suspension will be extended for a further season unless Malaga can prove by the end of March 2013 that they have settled outstanding payments to other teams, staff and tax authorities. They have also been fined €300,000 (£245,685 pounds).
Supporters of UEFA’s stance will point to Malaga as a classic example of new investors putting their money in to buy players and success but who then fail to meet their on-going financial responsibilities.
In a strongly worded reaction, Malaga accused UEFA of making them a scapegoat.
“The measures it seeks to adopt against the club are completely disproportionate and unjustified considering the club’s
situation,” the club said in an emailed statement.
Malaga, who have the right to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), said they are poised to reach an agreement with the Spanish tax authorities. Cash owed to La Liga rivals Osasuna and Malaga’s own players was also being settled.
Owner Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Al Thani had shown he was committed to the club by recently making a cash injection of more than €7 million euros, Malaga added.
The fortunes of Malaga, who face Porto in the last 16 of the Champions League, looked to be going only one way when Sheikh Abdullah was unveiled as the new owner in June 2010.
Argentine defender Martin Demichelis, Brazil’s Julio Baptista, Frenchman Jeremy Toulalan and Chile’s Manuel Iturra were all brought in by manager Manuel Pellegrini as the club qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history.
But they also sold Santi Cazorla to Arsenal while a number of players threatened legal action over unpaid wages.
The punishments meted out to Malaga – fourth in La Liga – and seven other clubs underline that UEFA is serious about
enforcing Financial Fair Play rules.
Croatian clubs Hajduk Split and Osijek, Romania’s Rapid and Dinamo Bucharest and Serbia’s Partizan Belgrade also face one-year bans unless their bills are settled by March.
Serbia’s Vojvodina and Arsenal Kiev of Ukraine were both fined.
UEFA made it clear that all clubs must move towards balancing their books – or face possible exclusion from European competition.
“UEFA’s club financial control body has taken its first decisions due to the presence of significant overdue payables,” a statement said.
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