UEFA warning ahead of financial fair play rules

[Buzzo]

If the punishments can be so easily absorbed by the clubs, they are not really all that punishing.

[Tee]

The only thing FFP will do long term is cement the teams currently at the highest level. So from that POV its extremely unfair. However, the idea that it stops smaller teams from doing a Leeds is a good thing.

Ultimately I think some form of Financial control is needed, because a Man City/PSG/Chelsea situation could happen every 2 years and totally blow the market up. Meaning higher prices for all.

Which is why I hate FFP.

[Fivex]

If the punishments can be so easily absorbed by the clubs, they are not really all that punishing.

I can't understand why there's not any weight on a points deduction. It's almost as if UEFA have found a covert way to swell their coffers by jumping in with huge financial penalties as a first resort.

[ChrisDR1968]

The only thing FFP will do long term is cement the teams currently at the highest level. So from that POV its extremely unfair. However, the idea that it stops smaller teams from doing a Leeds is a good thing.

Ultimately I think some form of Financial control is needed, because a Man City/PSG/Chelsea situation could happen every 2 years and totally blow the market up. Meaning higher prices for all.

Has football ever been fair?

[Red_Polo]

Has football ever been fair?

That's not a reason to not try and make it fairer.

[ChrisDR1968]

That's not a reason to not try and make it fairer.

How would you do it though?

Budget cap, wage cap or some other way?

[Red_Polo]

How would you do it though?

Budget cap, wage cap or some other way?

Incredibly difficult, and I'm certainly not claiming to have the answer. FFP resolves the problem of individual associations being reluctant to regulate in ways which might lower the relative standing of their top league, but the loopholes have the potential to worsen the ability of the richest to monopolise talent.

So ultimately, I have no idea, but ignoring it because it's longstanding is surely not a solution.

[Darkon]

How would you do it though?

Budget cap, wage cap or some other way?

Budget / wage cap have been quite effective in American sports, so some sort of model based on that is more likely to have an affect than what is put in place now. At least the competition in American sports is much more equal than European equals.

[Yozza]

What a joke......

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/32784375

Michel Platini: Uefa to 'ease' financial fair play rules

European football's governing body is preparing to relax the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules it introduced in 2011 to stop clubs from overspending.

In an interview with French radio station RTL , Uefa president Michel Platini said FFP was "working well" but would be "eased" this summer.

This followed a report in Le Parisien newspaper on Sunday that said "significant changes" are on the table.

Manchester City and Paris St-Germain were fined last year for breaching FFP.

The guiding principle of FFP is that clubs should stay within their means when it comes to buying and remunerating players: central to this is the so-called " "break-even requirement" .

The rules have been phased in to allow clubs some leeway but many have struggled to stay within the criteria and several have been given sanctions that range from bans on registering new players, fines and even exclusion from European club competitions.

But criticism of FFP has grown over the last two seasons as many observers have pointed out that stopping clubs from spending more than they earn cements the status quo - without the ability to speculate with their own money, ambitious owners of smaller clubs can never compete with more established clubs for the best players.

Platini did not go into details with RTL, saying only that the clubs had voted for FFP in the first place, the rules had "worked very well" until now but Uefa's executive committee was likely to revise them by the end of June, when it meets in Prague.
David Luiz of Paris St-Germain

But he also alluded to French critics who say FFP has made it very difficult for Qatar-owned PSG to join Europe's elite, a position fans of Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City share.

"The French press say it is not right that [Chelsea owner Roman] Abramovich can buy many players and in France they cannot buy them," he said.

"But if the Qataris had bought AC Milan, the French would also say we should make financial fair play even tougher. As it is, the Italians wanted it eased.

"The world is two-faced but we will say this openly: I think we'll ease things."

The article in Le Parisien went slightly further, suggesting the changes were a reaction to the "multiple legal actions (against FFP) currently in process, some of which are nearing conclusion".

Those legal actions are being spearheaded by Belgian lawyer Jean-Louis Dupont, who forced Uefa to overhaul its transfer rules with the Bosman Ruling in 1995.

Originally acting on behalf of a football agent, Dupont's challenge to FFP has now attracted support from fans of Manchester City, PSG and other clubs.

Dupont maintains FFP is contrary to basic European Union rules on free markets and he has filed complaints at courts in Brussels, Paris and Switzerland, as well as with the European Commission.

"We welcome the announcement of a change in the rules in line with the demands expressed by our clients in their various legal actions," Dupont said.

"When the exact content and scope of these changes are known, we will consider how this development, which on first sight appears favourable, is likely to meet their legitimate expectations and influence the conduct of ongoing actions."

A spokesman for the European Club Association, the body formed in 2008 to replace the G-14 group of elite clubs, confirmed it has been involved in talks with Uefa about revising FFP since December, those talks continue and a final decision was likely by the end of June.

[Kenneth]

What a waste of time.

[Fosterbloke]

I can understand the point that rich clubs won't get any competition because lesser clubs can't heavily invest but surely they could have come up with a better framework?

For example, the higher up the league, the greater your percentage of spend is allowed to be? It would mean that newly promoted teams can heavily invest while champions get to buy one player or something like that.

Or just rip it all up and only allow academy players + 2 transfers!

[Tee]

It was never ever really going to work. Money is very influential.

[Alex]

I think they are slightly going to relax it so it stops the rich getting richer and locking out newer clubs. However, it kind of makes the whole reason for it pointless. The inital idea seemed to be to keep clubs sustainable and crash and burn like Malaga or Portsmouth.

It wont work, money talks and it seems that it will do here too.

[RichC]

It looks to me the rules have been relaxed when the typical "super powers" start to look like they're going to fall foul of the rules and have to cut back on their spending.

Worked for a few years to keep the status quo now it's a potential problem time to relax them again

[Bender]

A Belgian court has imposed an interim order blocking European football governing body Uefa from activating new Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules
BBC