UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body announced on Friday that it would withhold prize money from 2012-13 competitions for financial irregularities at six clubs.
The clubs, who will have to resolve their overdue payments before they can receive their money, are: FC Astra Ploieşti (Romania, now called FC Astra Giurgiu), FC Metalurh Donetsk (Ukraine), HNK Hajduk Split (Croatia), HŠK Zrinjski (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Skonto FC (Latvia) and Trabzonspor AŞ (Turkey).
All six clubs qualified for the 2013-14 UEFA Europa League through various league and cup avenues. Only Trabzonspor reached the group stage, drawn in Group J with Lazio, Apollon Limassol and Legia Warsaw.
From the official confederation release:
As part of the financial fair play requirements included in the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations (2012 edition), the clubs participating in this year’s UEFA club competitions had to provide information regarding the status of any overdue payables as on 30 June 2013. After its last meeting in September 2013, the CFCB investigatory chamber has identified that important overdue payables towards other clubs and/or towards employees or social/tax authorities existed in six cases.
In the same release, UEFA boasts of the positive consequences of Financial Fair Play, including a reduction in overdue payments from €57 million in June 2011 to €9 million in June 2013 and a €600 million reduction in aggregate losses by Europe’s top-flight clubs in 2012, after six years of increasing losses.
However, of the clubs punished under the new rules, the vast majority have been smaller organizations in smaller countries. The big-name brands now could have an even greater advantage in the marketplace, as they can draw more sponsorship money and, combined with their superior revenue, could leave smaller clubs in the dust with regard to competitive development.
On Monday, UEFA released a 52-page benchmarking report on all clubs that qualified for continental competitions for the 2013-14 season. In it, UEFA highlights the “healthy turnover of clubs in the competitions.” The confederation’s stance is that the more clubs that participate, the better.
Presumably, if more clubs and member nations find continental success, UEFA would be pleased by that, too. However, Spanish and English sides continue to monopolize the knockout rounds, with a 70 percent success rate in advancing.
