UEFA is "poised to introduce new rules to tackle urgently what it sees as
the scourge of third-party ownership of players in Europe as early as
next season," according to Gibson & Conn of the London GUARDIAN. Transgressors "ultimately face the possibility of transfer
bans or having players excluded from the Champions League." As with the introduction of its Financial Fair Play, there
would be a "transition period to allow clubs to comply with the new rules
but the aim would be to clamp down on third-party ownership among clubs
competing in the Champions League or Europa League." A study for accounting firm KPMG last year put the "overall value of players
owned under TPO schemes, where third parties invest in up to 50% of a
player or loan the equivalent value," at €1.1B ($1.4B). A new "joint study" commissioned by FIFA from the Centre de Droit et
d’Economie du Sport and the Centre International d’Etude du Sport, has "warned of mushrooming integrity
concerns." UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino said that if FIFA "fails to act," UEFA will "take its own steps." Infantino: "It threatens the integrity of sporting competition, it
damages contractual stability, it undermines the relationship of trust
that should exist between a player and the club that employs him, it
creates conflicts of interests" (GUARDIAN, 9/23).