Latest news with #CFCB
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Chelsea respond to massive UEFA fine for financial breaches
Chelsea say they worked 'closely and transparently' with UEFA to enter a settlement agreement after breaching Financial Fair Play rules. The Blues were fined €31 million (£27m) by the Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) for breaking the governing body's football earnings rule and being in breach of the squad cost ratio rule. Aston Villa were also hit with a €11m (£9.5m) fine. Advertisement Clubs in European competition are required to have a squad cost ratio below 80 per cent, but both Chelsea and Villa exceeded this threshold. From 2025, the squad cost ratio will be 70 per cent. Neither Premier League side will be able to register new players onto their A List for UEFA competitions unless they have a positive transfer balance, i.e. the cost of signing players does not exceed what they bring in from sales, for the 2025/26 season. This extends into the following campaign for Chelsea. Chelsea and Villa sold their women's teams to their respective parent companies to avoid breaching the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules. However, UEFA does not allow such transactions to count towards their profit and loss margins under the Financial Fair Play rules. The west London outfit will have to pay £69m if they breach the four-year settlement with the CFCB. Advertisement Premier League transfers – Mbeumo update, shock Walker move, Gittens imminent Chelsea respond to massive UEFA fine for financial breaches 'Chelsea FC has entered into a settlement agreement with UEFA concerning a break-even deficit reported by the Club under UEFA's Financial Sustainability Regulations covering the financial years 2022/2023 and 2023/2024,' the club said in a statement on Friday. 'The Club has also agreed to pay a fine as a result of the club's squad cost ratio in the 2024 reporting year being between 80 per cent and 90 per cent. 'The club has worked closely and transparently with UEFA to provide a full and detailed breakdown of its financial reporting, which indicates that the financial performance of the club is on a strong upwards trajectory. Advertisement 'Chelsea FC greatly values its relationship with UEFA and considered it important to bring this matter to a swift conclusion by entering into a settlement agreement.' Read – Arsenal in 'delicate' talks with Nwaneri amid Madueke update See Also – Diogo Jota felt like one of us Follow The Football Faithful on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | TikTok
RTÉ News
6 days ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
UEFA hits Chelsea and Aston Villa with big fines over spending
Chelsea have been fined almost €31m and Aston Villa €11m for breaching UEFA's financial sustainability regulations, European football's governing body has announced. The Blues have been hit with a €20m penalty for failing to comply with UEFA's football earnings rule, with a further €60m payable if they do not achieve compliance inside the next four years, and have agreed to "a restriction on the registration of new players on their list A for UEFA club competitions". They have also been fined €11m for reporting a squad cost ratio – largely the proportion of their income paid out in wages – in excess of 80%. A Chelsea spokesperson said: "Chelsea FC has entered into a settlement agreement with UEFA concerning a break-even deficit reported by the club under UEFA's Financial Sustainability Regulations covering the financial years 2022-2023 and 2023-2024. "The club has also agreed to pay a fine as a result of the club's squad cost ratio in the 2024 reporting year being between 80% and 90%. "The club has worked closely and transparently with UEFA to provide a full and detailed breakdown of its financial reporting, which indicates that the financial performance of the club is on a strong upwards trajectory. "Chelsea FC greatly values its relationship with UEFA and considered it important to bring this matter to a swift conclusion by entering into a settlement agreement." Villa have been ordered to pay €5m, with a further €15m conditional on compliance in a three-year period, and €6m for the same two offences, with the penalties reflecting the severity of the breaches. The midlands club has also agreed a similar restriction on player registrations. Both clubs have entered into settlement agreements with UEFA and, should they breach them, have agreed to one-year bans from the next UEFA club competition they qualify for in the following three seasons. Aston Villa have been contacted for comment. The punishments have been handed down by the first chamber of UEFA's club financial control body (CFCB) following an analysis of the 2023 and 2024 financial years. Referring to the implementation of the football earnings rule, the CFCB said in a statement: "In assessing the clubs' compliance with the football earnings rule, the CFCB placed particular attention on transactions involving the sale of tangible or intangible assets, the exchange of players (so called 'swaps') and the transfers of players between related parties. "Clubs were required to perform adjustments, as profits from such transactions cannot be recognised as relevant income according to the UEFA club licensing and financial sustainability regulations – edition 2024." Both Chelsea and Villa have hit the headlines in recent months for selling their women's teams to their respective parent companies in an effort to negotiate spending restrictions.
Irish Independent
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Chelsea: Blues cop hefty Uefa fine after breaching financial fair play regulations with possible player restrictions
The Blues must pay a minimum of £26.7m, plus up to £51.8m in conditional fees. Aston Villa, Barcelona and Lyon are also among the clubs who have been handed hefty fines from the European football governing body as it tightens its monitoring of clubs' spending patterns. Uefa said the analysis covered the financial years ending in 2023 and 2024. The details of the size of the fines come a full month after Chelsea learnt they were not going to escape punishment. Uefa's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) – which sits independently from the governing body – has now reached a conclusion. A statement from Uefa on Friday explained that the CFCB's First Chamber found Chelsea guilty of breaching loss limits over a four-year period. Chelsea were also fined for having a squad cost ratio of between 80pc and 90pc, despite the allowable limit being 70pc. A statement from Uefa read: 'HNK Hajduk Split, Aston Villa FC, Chelsea FC, FC Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais agreed to settlement agreements with the CFCB which cover either a 2-year, 3-year or a 4-year period. 'The duration of each settlement agreement is dependent on the clubs' ability to comply with the Regulations within a specified timeline. Clubs' final target is to be fully compliant with the football earnings rule by the end of the settlement period (i.e., in 2026/27 season for a 2-year period, in 2027/28 season for a 3-year period, in 2028/29 season for a 4-year period). 'All clubs agreed to pay a fine (conditional and unconditional) which level is based on the size of the assessed breach. The settlement agreements covering a 4-year period further take into account the financial result forecasted for the financial year ending in 2025.' The statement continued: 'All clubs further agreed to be subject to a restriction on the registration of new players on their List A for UEFA club competitions. Such a measure could be conditional, unconditional or both and covers one or more seasons depending on the length of the settlement. ADVERTISEMENT 'Moreover, all clubs agreed to reach intermediate annual targets, and to the application of conditional financial and sporting measures should these targets not be met (ie stricter restriction on the registration of new players on the list A and exclusion from the next UEFA club competitions for which they will qualify). 'The CFCB First Chamber found that Aston Villa FC (ENG), Chelsea FC (ENG), Panathinaikos FC (GRE) and Beşiktaş JK (TUR) breached the squad cost rule, having reported a squad cost ratio above 80% for 2024 (transitional threshold set for 2024). 'All the abovementioned clubs reported a squad cost ratio between 80pc and 90pc and were imposed an unconditional fine [as foreseen in the Regulations] which level is proportionate to the size of the club's squad cost excess.'
New York Times
6 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Chelsea, Aston Villa handed UEFA fines, spending restrictions for breaching financial rules
Chelsea and Aston Villa have been fined €31million and €11m respectively after breaching UEFA's financial rules. The Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) announced on Friday a series of disciplinary measures for clubs under monitoring for the 2024-25 season. The unconditional figures are split into a fine for breaking the governing body's football earnings rule (Chelsea €20m and Villa €5m) and another for being in breach of their squad cost rule (€11m and €6m). Advertisement The total fines for each club come to €91m and €26m, with the added conditional fine being part of a settlement agreement with UEFA that covers a four-year period for Chelsea and a three-year period for Villa. Chelsea and Villa were found to have a squad cost ratio above 80 per cent for 2024 and were awarded fines proportionate to the size of the excess. Both clubs will also limited in what they can spend with players on UEFA's List A for club competitions having to hold a positive transfer balance, i.e. the cost of players added must not exceed those being removed. Elsewhere, Barcelona were handed €15m in unconditional fines while Olympique Lyonnais (€12.5m), Besiktas (€900,000) Panathinaikos (€400,000) and Hajduk Split (€300,000) have also been sanctioned. Both Chelsea and Villa sold their women's teams to their respective parent holding companies – Chelsea to Blueco in May and Villa to V Sports at the end of June – in order to generate income and prevent losses that would have them breach the Premier League's profitability and sustainability rules (PSR). Unlike the Premier League, however, UEFA does not allow for the sale of tangible assets to sister or parent companies to count towards their Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules. The Athletic reported in July that senior figures describe UEFA's squad cost rules as the most serious challenge that faces Villa, with compliance a difficult task. Aston Villa sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to do so publicly, feel comfortable in their abilities to perform on a domestic and European front despite the sanctions. The Athletic has approached Chelsea for comment although club sources in April, also speaking anonymously, noted that co-owners Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly were relaxed about their position. Advertisement In September 2022, UEFA charged eight clubs with failing to comply with FFP rules, including Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain, who were sanctioned with a €10m fine after failing to stay within spending limits. At the same time PSG were hit with a financial sanction, the Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) First Chamber, an independent panel within UEFA tasked with policing FFP, announced that Chelsea, along with multiple clubs competing in Europe in 2021-22, were going to be 'monitored closely'.
Telegraph
30-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Crystal Palace still threatened with Europa League expulsion after Uefa ruling
Crystal Palace still face the threat of expulsion from the Europa League after a Uefa ruling left them in limbo on Monday. The relegation of French side Lyon to Ligue 2 and John Textor's imminent exit as a Palace shareholder appeared to clear the way for the FA Cup winners to compete. However, with the club expecting a green light on Monday, Uefa's CFCB First Chamber instead announced it had 'decided to postpone its assessment of the multi-club ownership case involving Olympique Lyonnais and Crystal Palace'. The panel will now await the outcome of Lyon's appeal against relegation before making a final decision on Palace's European-competition place. A Uefa source confirmed: 'If Lyon's relegation is confirmed, Palace can take their place in the UEL. If Lyon stay up, then CFCB needs to decides on which of Palace or Lyon can play in UEL.' 'This postponement relates to Olympique Lyonnais' compliance with the settlement agreement concluded with the CFCB First Chamber for its breach of the financial sustainability requirements,' the chamber announced. 'As part of this settlement, Olympique Lyonnais agreed on an exclusion from the 2025/26 UEFA club competitions should the French authority (DNCG) confirm the club's relegation to Ligue 2. Further details on this multi-club ownership case and this settlement agreement will be communicated in due course.' Sale missed March 1 deadline Breach of competition rules concerns had been sparked because 43 per cent of Palace belonged to Textor, who also owns Lyon. Hours before the Uefa announcement, Textor also stepped back from the day-to-day management of the French club. Michele Kang, owner of the London City Lionesses and Washington Spirit as well as OL Lyonnes, Lyon's women's team, has been appointed as chair and president at the club as a whole. Lyon's demotion was provisionally announced by the DNCG, French football's financial watchdog, in November over financial irregularities. After relegation was confirmed last Tuesday, Textor said the club would appeal against the decision and that Lyon's financial position remained strong. A day earlier, Textor agreed the sale of his Palace stake to American billionaire Woody Johnson. However, under Uefa ownership rules, changes are only typically accepted after a March 1 deadline. Another delay in a final decision will be immensely frustrating for Palace. Johnson is understood to have paid about £200 million to buy the 42.9 per cent of the club previously owned by US investor Textor. The deal was expected to satisfy Uefa that there are no multi-club issues. It is subject to approval by the Premier League and its owners and directors' test. A Palace statement said: 'Crystal Palace Football Club can confirm that Robert Wood Johnson, 'Woody', an American businessman and co-owner of the New York Jets, has signed a legally binding contract to purchase Eagle Football's holding in the Club. 'Whilst the completion is pending approval from the Premier League and Women's Super League, we do not envisage any issues and look forward to welcoming Woody as a partner and director of the club. 'We would like to go on record to thank John Textor for his contribution over the past four years and wish him every success for the future.' The development takes Textor out of the picture, leaving chairman Steve Parish, and original US investors Josh Harris and David Blitzer, to run the club with Johnson as a supportive partner. Textor had neglected to place his shares in Ligue 1 Lyon in a blind trust by the early March deadline in order to comply with Uefa rules on multi-club ownership. Palace's three other owners made their case to Uefa this month that there was no multi-club issue – they shared no recruitment, or sporting infrastructure with Lyon or indeed any other club in Textor's Eagle Football group.
