Eight clubs fined by UEFA over Financial Fair Play

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By Martin Graham | 3rd Sep 2022

PSG lead a list of clubs fined for defaulting on the Financial Fair Play rules. Four Premier League clubs are among those to be monitored closely.

UEFA is on the tail of several clubs for different infractions that negate the Financial Fair Play rule. Despite the tough stance by the European football governing body, how effective have they been in dealing with clubs and their financial status?

The transfer market has seen plenty of money spent on player movements, and it has opened the eyes of UEFA to the clubs. Some of these expenses have run foul of the rules, and UEFA intends to come down on them.

In a recent clampdown on some clubs, UEFA have fined defaulting clubs for their Financial Fair Play performance. UEFA has fined some clubs and is closely monitoring others.

UEFA hits several clubs with fines

UEFA seems to have taken the issue of Financial Fair Play a little serious, but the punishments meted out to the clubs look nothing more than a slap on the wrist. UEFA have come down on eight clubs with different fines over their Financial Fair Play performance.

The fines to these clubs were for not complying with ‘break-even’ rules. It means their expenditure is over their income. UEFA insists that they must balance their books over three years.

The eight clubs penalised are Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Roma. Others are Juventus, Besiktas, Marseille and Monaco.

Eight teams received varying fines, with PSG getting the highest. UEFA penalized PSG with a 10m euros (£8.6m) fine, but it could rise to 65m euros (£56.3m) if they refuse to comply in future.

Other clubs on the UEFA watch list

While PSG got the highest fine, other clubs are close to crossing the line. Four Premier League clubs are among the 19 on the UEFA watch list. The four Premier League clubs include Leicester City, Chelsea, Manchester City and West Ham. Scottish Premiership side Rangers was also on the list.

Other clubs that made the 19-team list to be monitored by UEFA include Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona, FC Basel, Union Berlin, Fenerbahce, Feyenoord and Olympique. Also on the list are Lyonnais, Real Betis, Royal Antwerp, Sevilla, Lazio, Napoli, Trabzonspor and Wolfsburg.

In their explanation, UEFA said that these clubs were only technically able to the break-even requirement because they applied the COVID-19 emergency measures. Another reason could be because they benefited from historical positive break-even results (T-3 and T-4).