Big-spending clubs opposed to UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations "were dealt an unexpected boost" Monday when "an official challenge to the rules was lodged at the European Commission," according to Ian Herbert of the London TELEGRAPH. The complaint, lodged by Belgium-registered agent Daniel Striani, "will force the Commission to mount a painstaking assessment of whether the UEFA President Michel Platini's FFP regime is an illegal restriction on his potential income." The Striani case "does have potential to derail a system central to Platini's vision for the game." Striani "is represented by the lawyer Jean Louis-Dupont." Legal specialists believe that "it may take five years for Striani's case to be dealt with." But European clubs, including Man City and Chelsea, "will be watching with great interest a legal case which will be based in part on the assertion that FFP is unfair" because it preserves the existing dominance of clubs like ManU and Arsenal "by preventing newcomers to run-up losses while they break in." Dupont first revealed last month that he believed FFP, which has demanded clubs entering European competitions move toward break-even since '11, "was anti-competitive and open to legal challenge" (INDEPENDENT, 5/7).
