UEFA President Platini Asks EU For Support In Enforcing Financial Fair Play

UEFA President Michel Platini on Tuesday "asked for the support of the European Union to enforce financial fair play," according to the AFP. Speaking in front of the European ministers of Sports in an informal meeting in Rome, the former player "reiterated that the 'once unthinkable' reforms in place to ensure the economic future of football have 'shown to be effective.'" Since the European clubs risk sanctions if they spend more than they earn, their accumulated losses "fell from €1.7B in '11 to €800M ($1B) in '13." Platini spoke on the obstacles hindering these reforms and asked for the support of the European ministers. He also "requested the assistance of the European body in banning the practice of third party ownership of players," including investment funds. He said that this practice "does not respect the dignity" of the players, who “see their contractual freedom restricted as their owners abuse their power and do lucrative deals on their backs” (AFP, 10/21).