UEFA "is investigating Liverpool, Monaco, AS Roma and Internazionale of Milan over potential breaches of financial fair play regulations," according to Roger Blitz of the FINANCIAL TIMES. The four clubs, which all missed out on pan-European competition last season, have come under UEFA’s scrutiny "after qualifying for this season’s Champions League." UEFA said that "the four, as well as Besitkas, Krasnodar and Sporting Lisbon, disclosed what it called 'break-even deficits,' or sums beyond permissible losses," in their financial periods ending '12 and '13. Clubs "were allowed to incur losses" of €45M over the '11-12 and '12-13 seasons. Liverpool, runners-up in last season’s Premier League, "spent heavily to rebuild its squad." Its losses for '12-13 were £49.8M. In the 10 months prior, it incurred £40.5M of losses. Liverpool will seek to have UEFA "take into consideration the loss reported in its 2011-12 accounts" of £35M incurred from its aborted stadium plans under previous owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett. Stadium and youth development costs "are exempt items and for the purposes of financial fair play considerations can be excluded from a club’s reported spending figures" (
FT, 9/25). The AP reported Liverpool, Roma and Monaco "can all expect to earn" at least €20M ($25.5M) from entry payments, results bonuses, and a share of TV rights money. UEFA "has also withheld prize money due to five clubs from this season's competition because they have not paid wages, transfer fees or taxes." The clubs are "Bursaspor, Cluj, Astra Giurgiu, Buducnost Podgorica and Ekranas." UEFA said that 115 clubs, including the 12 named on Thursday, "will be monitored throughout the season" (
AP, 9/25).
PRIZE MONEY WITHHELD
: The AFP reported UEFA said that its Club Financial Control Body had decided to withhold prize money from five clubs involved in this season's European competitions due to "important overdue payables" to other clubs, employees or their national tax authorities. UEFA noted that "the decision to withhold the prize money -- the amount of which was not revealed -- was a provisional move pending further investigation and would remain in force until December." Other penalties "can include transfer-market restrictions and fines." It said that "the financial fair play rules had proven their mettles," with overdue sums decreasing from €57M in June '11 to €8M ($10M) in the same month this year. In addition, aggregate losses reported by Europe's first-division clubs in the '13 financial year have gone down to €800M ($1B) "from a record-reported deficit" of €1.7B in '11 (
AFP, 9/25).
