To compound their misery at relegation from the Premier League, Queens Park Rangers face the prospect of a fine in excess of £50m for breach of financial fair play regulations. They could even be expelled from professional football.
To compound their misery at relegation from the Premier League, Queens Park Rangers face the prospect of a fine in excess of £50m for breach of financial fair play regulations. They could even be expelled from professional football.
This report analyses the situation in depth, including QPR’s response. However, a note of caution is needed. QPR’s lawyers and the Football League have been discussing the situation since December. This suggests that it is far from plain sailing for the football authorities.
They know that QPR would be likely to challenge a large fine in the courts. They also know that their financial fair play (FFP) scheme is built on insecure legal foundations in terms of competition law. A successful court challenge could bring the whole edifice crashing down. On the other hand, if they just impose a nominal fine, the credibility of FFP will be damaged more than it has been already.
Strictly speaking, either QPR should be fined over £50m or a small sum. However, ingenious lawyers may be able to come up with a formula that produces a fine of a few millions, not enough to entice QPR to resort to the courts, but sufficient to give a cloak of respectability to FFP.