Barcelona facing off against Manchester United in the Europa League 2022/23. (Credit: AFP)
UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body has fined Manchester United 300,000 euros and Barcelona 500,000 euros respectively under its Financial Fair Play rules.
According to new reports, Premier League giants Manchester United were fined 300,000 euros by UEFA on Friday for a break-even deficit while Spanish champions Barcelona have to pay 500,000 euros for wrongly reporting profits.
Both clubs have been hit with their respective six-figure fines as a result of breaching UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations.
Manchester United had reported “minor break-even deficits” according to a statement by UEFA and will have to pay their fine.
UEFA has updated the FFP rules that were approved in 2009 with a new monitoring system that prioritises financial sustainability for clubs and has moved away from setting competitive balance on the field as an achievable target.
The break-even requirements were put in place in 2013, which require clubs to balance their spending with their revenues, with the aim of preventing clubs from accumulating debt.
United had replied to the situation stating that they were ‘disappointed’ with the outcome.
“Manchester United accepts this fine for what UEFA acknowledges to be a minor technical breach of its previous Financial Fair Play rules.”
United said that the change in the adjustment of losses during the COVID-19 pandemic was what led to this snafu.
“This reflected a change in the way that UEFA adjusted for COVID-19 losses during the 2022 reporting period, which allowed us to recognise only €15m of the €281m of revenues lost due to the pandemic within the FFP calculation.”
The Red Devils anyways went on to agree with the fine and said that they stand by the enforcement of FFP rules.
In the case of Barcelona, a more severe punishment was doled out as UEFA described their negligence as “wrongly reporting, in the financial year 2022, profits on disposal of intangible assets (other than player transfers) which are not a relevant income under the regulations”.
It is also understood that the situation will have no impact on either club’s ability to add to their squad during the summer transfer window, nor will it affect their participation in next year’s Champions League.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
