The Blaugrana are accused of having violated the regulation of financial fair play (FFP), for the second time in two seasons.
The heart of the problem is again this time in the “economic levers” of FC Barcelona and their classification in the accounts presented to UEFA, which believes that they should not be counted as sales, but as exceptional income. UEFA inflicted a fine of € 500,000 last year, but it is now looking to sanction FC Barcelona for a second offense. The second sanction is much heavier and can include participation in the Champions League with a reduced workforce, a deduction of points for the championship phase or a fine. The initial UEFA proposal, according to MD, was a fine of 60 million euros for FC Barcelona.
The president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta, negotiates with UEFA
On Sunday, the president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta, went to Munich to attend the defeat of Spain on penalties against Portugal in the final of the League of Nations. His real objective was to meet his UEFA counterpart, Aleksander Ceferin, in order to discuss a possible fine. It was the second meeting between the two in a few weeks.
Laporta argued that the “levers” of Barça had been accepted by the Liga in the calculation of the salary ceiling and that Barcelona, as a club held by its members, could not resort to capital increases to owners as its competitors do, in order to give themselves a greater financial room of maneuver. These operations are accepted by UEFA, and FC Barcelona affirms that it will recover these assets when selling a percentage of its television rights for a certain period.
UEFA will reduce the fine by 60 million euros – with conditions
The same media explains that Ceferin agreed to reduce the fine of 60 million euros to 15 million euros, a major asset for FC Barcelona. However, this condition is that Barcelona respects the financial rules of La Liga and UEFA this season. Otherwise, the sanction will be a fine of 60 million euros.
Situation of the salary ceiling of FC Barcelona
This represents additional pressure on the situation of FC Barcelona with the Liga. The League recently declared that FC Barcelona is currently exceeding its salary ceiling, but the club strives to ensure that its VIP space rental contract of 100 million euros was approved by the Crowe audit firm before the end of June. If this is not the case, the club will not be able to comply with the regulations.
