According to Tasnim news agency, the British newspaper “The Times” published a report claiming that the European Football Union (UEFA) is going to punish 20 European clubs next month (September) for violating UEFA’s financial fair play in the 2020-21 season. Clubs such as Arsenal, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Inter and Rome are among these clubs.
According to this report; Arsenal has had one of the highest financial losses in the English Premier League in the last three years. This English club had a total financial loss of 213 million pounds in the last three years during the outbreak of the Corona virus, of which 127 million pounds was in the 2020-21 season. Arsenal also had one of the highest net spends on transfers, spending a total of £218m, the same as Manchester United’s net spending on players over the last three seasons.
Under Uefa rules, each club is only allowed to make losses of €30m (around £25.4m) over three years, but losses related to Covid-19 and “health” in cases such as women’s football and the academy can be written off and are among the exceptions. Premier League rules are more lenient than UEFA’s, allowing clubs to take losses of up to £105 million over three years.
“The Times” claimed; UEFA’s Financial Fair Play decisions for the 2020-21 season are expected to result in sanctions against Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille, Inter Milan and Roma as part of club agreements. Based on this, it is expected that PSG and Marseille will be fined, and the two clubs Inter and Rome will be banned from operating in the future transfer window in addition to the fine.
It is said that both Barcelona and Juventus have so far refused to negotiate with UEFA regarding financial fair play and have refused to clarify this matter. The two clubs and Real Madrid are trying to launch a European Super League and are involved in legal proceedings against UEFA.
But this is the last season UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules will be in place in their current form, with Europe’s highest football body introducing a new system from 2023 that will see clubs pay a percentage of their revenue in a calendar year for Player wages, transfers and payments to program managers will be capped.