Marseille fined by UEFA for breaking FFP rules, but Champions League spot retained

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Xinhua, June 20, 2020
Adjust font size:

PARIS, June 19 (Xinhua) -- French Ligue 1 club Marseille have been fined three million euros for breaching UEFA's Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, but will keep their place in the 2020-2021 Champions League, the European football governing body announced on Friday.

The punishment also included a 15% reduction of their prize money earned in European competitions over the next two seasons and the southern French club are limited to register a 23-men squad for the continental competitions until 2022-2023, which usually is 25.

Marseille finished second in the curtailed Ligue 1 season which was abandoned in late April due to the coronavirus pandemic and secured a place in next season's Champions League, which is their first time in six years.

They were sanctioned by UEFA last year for their unhealthy balance sheet which showed a 78.5 million euros loss in the 2017-2018 season. The club had agreed with UEFA to rectify but reported another 91 million euros in its 2018-2019 account.

The 2018-19 Europa League runners-up will have to watch their budget closely as they enter into the next season, otherwise some even more serious punishments will fall upon them.

However, UEFA has decided on Thursday to take some measures easing the FFP rules to help European football clubs through the current economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The financial year 2020 and 2021 will be combined into one which will be assessed next year, which may be a relief for Marseille and give the club owner Frank McCourt some more time to balance the revenue and expenditure.

Other measures include a change of the monitoring period of the next two seasons, as the 2020/21 monitoring period is curtailed and only covers two financial years (2018 and 2019), whereas the 2021/22 monitoring period is extended and covers four financial years (2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021). Enditem

Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation.
ChinaNews App Download
Print E-mail Bookmark and Share

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)

No comments.

Add your comments...

  • User Name Required
  • Your Comment
  • Enter the words you see:   
    Racist, abusive and off-topic comments may be removed by the moderator.
Send your storiesGet more from China.org.cnMobileRSSNewsletter