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It was expected that an agreement between Uefa and Manchester City FC on the sanctions to be applied for breaches of financial fair play rules would be announced last Friday, but negotiations are continuing with the two sides far apart.
Uefa has proposed that City, along with Paris Saint-Germain and a handful of other clubs, agree to a heavy fine and a reduction in the number of players they can register for next season’s Champions League.
Sunderland looked as if they had pulled off ‘the great escape’ with their victory over Manchester United yesterday, but now they face a legal challenge that could put them back in the relegation zone.
Manchester City are expected to have their squad numbers cut for next season’s Champions League after breaching Uefa’s financial fair play rules. Expenditure restrictions are also set to be put in place, setting a limit on the salary bill of their European ‘A’ squad. Normally 25 players are allowed in the ‘A’ squad, but this number is expected to be cut and the club also faces a large fine.
The sanctions form part of a settlement offer to City and other clubs such as Paris Saint Germain which they can accept, reject or try to negoriate.
It looks as if Uefa is backing down from a confrontation with leading clubs over its financial fair play rules. Michel Platini has announced that no club will be banned from the Champions League or Europa Leage next season. Of course, they could still receive transfer bans and big fines.
Exasperation with the ineffectiveness of the Football League’s test for directors of football clubs is one factor has led Business Secretary Vince Cable to formulate new rules to ban ‘dodgy directors’. Those who have committed purely commercial offences would be banned under the new rules.
The Dutch Football Federation is to investigate Chelsea’s links with Vitesse Arnhem. This follows a claim by their former owner that executives at Stamford Bridge had told the Dutch club not to qualify for the Champions League.
Fifa has slapped a 14-month transfer ban on Barcelona for breaking rules relating to the transfer of under-18 players that are designed to protect them from exploitation. The Catalan club has also been fined, along with the Spanish football federation.
The club’s squeaky clean image had already been damaged earlier in the year by allegations of tax evasion surrounding the transfer of Neymar. The then president resigned, but his successor may now face demands for new presidential elections.
Massimo Cellino is to appeal against the Football League’s decision to bar him from taking over Leeds United, insisting that he is not a crook. However, he says that Leeds need investment now.
He has already loaned £6m to the club who are believed to face a cash flow crisis. Players’ wages are due this week and owners GFH Capital have not put any money into the club since before Christmas.
There have been a number of calls recently for greater transparency and accountability in the governance of football and this report reviews the issues and makes some sensible suggestions.
Not surprisingly, the Football Association comes in for some criticism. It is suggested that it has failed to discharge its responsibilities as a regulator by delegating too much authority to the leaves.
This is the first of an occasional series of articles in which we look at what was happening in football one hundred years ago in the run up to the outbreak of the Great War.
In the early months of 1914, most people fortunately had no idea of what lay ahead later in the year. Their focus was rather more on how they could make the best use of their valuable spare time. The retail sector was a large employer in a town like Leamington, a medium-sized town in Warwickshire in the heart of England.