UEFA is prepared to soften its Financial Fair Play rules for Russian and Ukrainian clubs "that are being battered by their countries' economic problems," according to James Ellingworth of the AP. With the Russian and Ukrainian currencies having "dropped sharply in value over the last year and the two countries set for recession, many clubs' financial plans have been thrown into turmoil." UEFA said in a statement that the economic problems "may be taken into account as an exceptional circumstance and a mitigating factor" in FFP investigations, though "no clubs will be exempted entirely from the regulations." The statement added, "The impact of the currency devaluation will need to be evaluated carefully and on a case by case basis." In a sign the organization is "taking the issue seriously," UEFA's top FFP official Andrea Traverso visited Moscow last month for talks with the Russian Football Union, league and clubs. The Ukrainian Football Federation is "also in contact with UEFA over how FFP could apply to its clubs." The economic crisis is the "first of its kind to test the FFP rules." Previous economic problems, such as those in Greece, "have occurred in countries which used the euro, which limited the potential for clubs' financial figures to be distorted by a currency plunge." Russia and Ukraine have both seen their currencies "fall sharply over the last year of political and economic turmoil." The Russian ruble has lost "almost half of its value" against the dollar since Jan. '14, while the Ukrainian hryvnya is down by "nearly two thirds" (AP, 3/18).
