UEFA is set to introduce new regulations that will stop players from being traded for fees exceeding their true market value. And, according to L’Equipe, the rules will be installed during this transfer window as the governing body tries to play catch up and “prevent abusive practices.”
UEFA’s executive committee will vote on a number of amendments to their financial fair play (FFP) regulations when they meet on June 28.
Among those proposals will be a mechanism where transfer fees will be compared to their true market value and clubs will be punished should they declare sums that are considered greatly excessive by the club control body.
The move comes after Serie A giants Juventus were fined and deducted points having being found guilty of a number of financial irregularities including the inflation of transfer fees.
“Recent transactions in European club soccer have raised questions about the consistent implementation of the new financial viability regulations," UEFA said, according to L’Equipe.
“In response, the committee [for club licensing, chaired by UEFA vice-president Gabriele Gravina] has proposed changes to the regulations on accounting for transfer transactions in order to prevent abusive practices and ensure a level playing field."
UEFA’s ExCo will also discuss the introduction of a stricter framework for controlling clubs' wage bills. New Financial Sustainability Regulations (FSR) will see clubs being banned from exceeding 90% of revenues in 2023-2024, 80% the following season and 70% from 2025-2026. But more rigid proposals could end up on the table, L’Equipe reported.
French clubs, who say they are disadvantaged by the domestic tax system, are pushing for the FFP regulations to factor in leagues’ conditions and UEFA has set up "a specialised working group to analyse the impact of national taxes and social charges in various jurisdictions, with a view to developing effective and fair cost control mechanisms.”
The ExCo is already committed to introducing a block on players signing contracts longer than five years after recognising the amortisation loopholes exploited by Chelsea in the previous two transfer windows, when a number of players signed seven- and eight-year deals which meant the club could spread its repayment of transfer fees thinly and remain within the FFP parameters.
UEFA is separately working on a plan that would place salary and transfer caps on clubs that would run alongside the FSR rather than as a replacement but that idea is set to be met by resistance from a number of clubs, while European Union laws will need to be satisfied.
Aleksander Ceferin, the Uefa president, hinted at the possibility of imposing a fixed spending limit in a recent interview with the Men In Blazers podcasts. He said: “in the future we have to seriously think about a salary cap,” adding: “It’s not about the owners, it’s about the value of the competition, because if five clubs will always win then it doesn’t make sense any more.”
