Appropriate Sanctions Necessary For Financial Fair Play To Work – Manchester United Chief Executive David Gill

EXCLUSIVE

UEFA decided last Wednesday to shelve their plan of enforcing a transfer ban on clubs who violate its Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations given that the planned penalties will be not be legally enforceable. This is primarily due to the fact that player registration lies with FIFA and not them.

It was only last week that Manchester City announced their £195 million loss in the 2010-11 financial year. The FFP regulations clearly state that the clubs can lose not more than £39.5m over the next three years, including the present one. The idea is to level the playing field for the 660 top division clubs scattered across 53 European countries.

Uefa Drop Proposals To Impose Strict Penalties On Clubs That Breach Financial Fair Play Rules Following Manchester City's announcement of £195 million loss, the European governing body has dropped plans to impose penalties on clubs who breach the new terms

UEFA were to levy a series of punishments to the clubs who wouldn’t fall in line with what the FFP demands, however with the new developments, it has certainly affected the plans of the governing body of football in Europe to have “control” over the financial audit.

“I don’t think an official report has come by UEFA. I think UEFA, as I understand it, are currently looking at the sanctions they are gonna impose in conjunction with the Financial Fair Play and I think they will be decided and communicated in the first part of 2012,” David Gill told Goal.com.

“But everyone recognizes that if financial fair play is to achieve its goals, then it is gonna have appropriate sanctions whatever they may be. So that’ll be worked out by UEFA with the clubs and let’s see what happens,” he added with an air of optimism.

The Bundesliga, which is the most efficient league in the world with regards to its finances, has clubs spending less than 50% of their total turnover on players’ wages as compared to some of the other top leagues such as the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A or even the Ligue 1.

And it isn’t that they aren’t having the best in the business plying their trade in their league given that maximum players were from the Bundesliga at the 2010 World Cup.

Gill agreed and mentioned that his club also follows pretty much the same philosophy as far as the allocation of budgets for players’ salaries are concerned but added that it’s up to an individual club as to how they want to break their turnover.

“Manchester United, ever since we floated back in 1991, we have had a policy whereby we will not spend more than 50% of our revenues in total wages. And if we do that, we still believe the size of our revenue has enabled us to attract, retain and pay appropriate wages to some of the best players in the world.

“That’s our model and still leaves us money to invest back in the business - in the training ground or in the redevelopment of the ground or in the transfers. So that’s what we have.” – David Gill

“Now other clubs have to determine their own model. Now what Financial Fair Play will do is have a requirement that clubs have to break even. So by definition that should have some control over the player wages, the transfer fees and the amortization of transfer fees.

“Now it’s up to the club whether they want to spend/earn pounds of revenue. They can spend a £100 on costs or, might say I wanna spend £70 on wages from that £100 and £30 pounds something else. Or I might pay £50 in wages and something else.

“So I think what Michel Platini is doing with Financial Fair Play is the next step in trying to bring some financial discipline and, as you say, some control.”