For some time I have been suggesting that a club penalised by Uefa’s financial fair play rules would challenge them in court. But now it appears that Michel Platini himself is eager to sue a club to enforce his organisation’s rules.
For some time I have been suggesting that a club penalised by Uefa’s financial fair play rules would challenge them in court. But now it appears that Michel Platini himself is eager to sue a club to enforce his organisation’s rules.
One thing that one can be certain of is that there is going to be one or more court cases sooner or later and the real winners will be the lawyers who will earn substantial fees. Indeed, this is particularly good news for the burgeoining group of sports lawyers who were able to see a good thing coming.
Platini had better be careful what he wishes for. It is not so much the intrinsic unfairness of the rules that will interest the court, but the way in which they are implemented. As Platini is the first to admit, the devil is in the detail.
Accounts are a social construction of reality. How does fairly calculate a loss, a debt or whether a sponsorship deal is over generous? The Pope may well be on his side, as Platini claims, but courts are unlikely to be swayed by statements of support from the Holy See.