At least five clubs competing in this season’s UEFA competitions "risk breaching the European football’s governing body’s new financial break-even rules," according to Roger Blitz of the FINANCIAL TIMES. UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino "declined to name the clubs" that will breach the rules if their losses over the last two seasons exceed €45M ($61M). Clubs in breach face sanctions, the most punitive being "a ban from Uefa competition." Infantino added that up to 40 of the 237 clubs competing in this season’s Champions League and Europa League "are likely to exceed losses" of €5M ($6.7M) over the two seasons. They would "also face sanctions if their owners were unwilling or unable to cover the losses." Infantino said that all clubs "were co-operating with Uefa requests for financial information." UEFA, on Thursday, will "publish data showing signs of such improvements: revenue growth overtaking wage growth for the first time since records were compiled seven years ago," and €600M ($811M) lopped off the total losses of first division clubs. However, the "pace of wage growth remains a concern." Infantino said, "It’s growing. Year by year it’s growing. This is the problem" (FT, 9/19).
