Aston Villa Under EPL Microscope

The EPL will decide if the $69.6M sale of Villa Park represented “fair market value."GETTY IMAGES

Aston Villa's sale of Villa Park will reportedly be probed by the EPL to check whether it breached FFP regulations. After it emerged independent valuations had been ordered by the English Football League into the sale by League Championship sides Derby County, Sheffield Wednesday and Reading of their own home grounds, Villa "will not escape scrutiny." It is "unclear" whether the EPL will order an independent valuation of Villa Park or "simply examine evidence provided by the club" before deciding whether the $69.6M sale represented "fair market value." EPL profit and sustainability rules "do not prohibit clubs using cash earned from stadium sales to comply with them." However, UEFA’s FFP rules, on which the EFL’s original regulations were based, do, "acting as a deterrent for top-flight clubs." Villa declined to comment (London TELEGRAPH, 9/5).