June 29 – UEFA’s new-look executive committee holds its first meeting today and tomorrow with financial fair play and the format for the 2016 Euro finals the top items on the agenda though discussions on a successor to FIFA president Sepp Blatter seem certain to take place, whether formally or informally.
The committee, chaired by UEFA President Michel Platini, is meeting for the first time with its new lineup that includes Sándor Csányi (Hungary), Fernando Gomes (Portugal) and Davor Šuker (Croatia).
Last week UEFA insisted they intended to press ahead with financial fair play (FFP) despite a Belgian court taking a significant step towards having the controversial rules scrapped. The court asked the European Court of Justice to examine whether FFP violates European Union law.
UEFA is adamant it will not be held back, questioning the validity of the Brussels court’s decision and in turn vowing to lodge an appeal that would suspend the ruling and allow it to maintain FFP as planned.
UEFA has already agreed to relax some aspects of FFP by allowing for larger short-term losses than currently permitted and are expected to rubber-stamp this in Prague. Legal challenges were always anticipated but UEFA will be anxious the Belgian case does not act as a precedent and wreck years of painstaking work.
Meanwhile, although not on the agenda, UEFA’s top-brass seem likely to take stock of the current position regarding Blatter’s resignation and start talking about whether to put up a European candidate. Although Michael van Praag and Luis Figo both pulled out of last month’s presidential election, the goalposts have moved considerably now that Blatter is no longer in the running.
With his one-time ally and now arch-enemy out of the way, Platini himself may just be considering whether to go for the top job or whether to forge an alliance with a candidate from another confederation, just as UEFA did with Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan who ended up acquiring 73 votes against Blatter and is understood to be weighing up his chances of winning if he stands again.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1734999304labto1734999304ofdlr1734999304owedi1734999304sni@w1734999304ahsra1734999304w.wer1734999304dna1734999304