Fans' group not backing down

21 May 2015 10:47

A fans' group which is suing UEFA over financial fair play rules says it will not withdraw its legal action until there is a "complete change" to the key regulations.

UEFA's president Michel Platini has confirmed changes to financial fair play (FFP) rules will be made later this month.

But the group, named The Association of Angry Fans against Financial Fair Play, which is taking action along with more than 100 Paris St Germain fans in the French courts says merely easing the rules is not enough.

There are more than 10 legal actions taking place against UEFA over FFP in several countries.

A statement from the group welcomed Platini's announcement that the rules would be eased - understood in order to allow more owner investment in clubs - but said: "We nonetheless do remain vigilant. Our fight goes on.

"We shall not accept a mere easement of the current rules. We advocate for a complete change of some the key provisions of FFP, in particular, the refusal to take into account loans or equity investment in a club's revenues for purposes of break-even requirements."

The legal action claims FFP is anti-competitive saying it distorts competition between established clubs such as Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United compared to new challengers such as PSG and Manchester City.

Platini said the aims of the FFP still stood but that UEFA wanted to offer more opportunities for growth "after a period of austerity".

Under current rules, owners are only permitted to put a limited amount of money into clubs to cover losses.

It is understood the changes will allow more investment by owners into clubs, especially in the years following a takeover.

Platini said on UEFA's website: "Clubs need to continue to live within their means. We have been in a long consultation process which has taken into account views from all stakeholders. The conclusions are that everyone wants financial fair play to stay.

"The objective of financial fair play remains the same, we have just been working on moving from a period of austerity to one where we can offer more opportunities for sustainable growth."

He added: "It is entirely normal for regulations to be updated. In fact, it would be abnormal if regulations never changed."

Platini said any changes would not affect settlement agreements and penalties imposed over the last two seasons.

Meanwhile, UEFA has announced a new agreement with Sony that will see the Japanese electronics giant extend its sponsorship deal to cover its mobile phone as well as the PlayStation arm.

It will extend Sony's partnership with the UEFA Champions League to 2017 and comes six months after Sony ended a 10-year association with FIFA citing anticipated rising sponsorship costs.

The company said the decision was not related to the negative publicity surrounding FIFA's awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar.

Source: PA