So the debtors final has fuelled UEFA's fires to eradicate debt financing at football clubs.
The issue was aired in Manchester at a meeting of UEFA's Professional Football Strategy Council, a body bringing together clubs, leagues, federations and players.
The plan is that only clubs with balanced books will be licensed to play in the European competitions which could mean that Abramovich writes off £575m and the Glazers repay the American banks. Whether Arsenal's stadium debt enters the picture is a matter of conjecture - but the spirit of the move is to stop debt funding of players and because Arsenal virtually balance the books on the playing staff side, then there would be strong legal arguments in their favour, particulary as the Emirates Stadium serves the community and not owners in distant lands.
The move will be challenged in the courts, of course, with the best commercial lawyers, including what to do with holding company and trust payments from outside the club. And there will never be a totally level playing field. But UEFA is an organisation, with entry requirements, with backing from European politcians who have the power to legislate and with that leverage will try and even out the imbalances, as best it can.
UEFA president Platini says he will work alongside the European politicians: ''We will need laws, regular laws, to become transparent and honest. But you can be sure we have the courage to see this through. Licensing will come and, when it does,
RE:Manu and Chavski sure to get Screwed
by Ram Mohan on May 30, 2008 08:53 PM
no longer will clubs be able to win through debt. No doubt we will give them two or three years to get their affairs in order - we cannot just cut off their heads, because football has lived without rules and laws for a long time and they must be allowed to adjust - but licensing will come and maybe, when the politicians can see we have clear and clean competition, they won't come knocking on our door every day.''
In an accompanying report, Platini, said: "It is important to preserve the integrity and balance to ensure that everyone is subjected fairly to the same rules. There should be no question, for example, of allowing a club to get into debt just to transfer in the best players, or... of allowing it to neglect its organisation."
It would mean a limit to the amount of money any club can borrow - either from the market or a sugar daddy.
UEFA believes leading clubs' willingness to assume debt in its many forms is distorting competitiveness. Having failed in its attempts to introduce salary caps and any form of 'home grown' rule (both defeated by EU law), in its club licensing initiative, it believes it has found the ideal way to level football's financial playing field.
Platini adds: "The problem occurs when the clubs who run up huge debts always win - and that we must stop. Some clubs, and some leagues, have asked us to. We are preparing a plan that will encourage clubs to reduce their debts and give us clear, clean competition.''
Chelsea should go for Frank Rijkard instead of Mancini....Ever since the Mourinho days, the gist of the criticism against chelsea has been that they play a very physical game and not a free flowing one.... Frank Rijkard got Barcelona to play some the best football in about a decade when Barcelona were in their prime in 2005 & 2006. Chelsea must hire him if they want their game to go a notch higher....this will definitely make them unbeatable...
i dnt think chelsea shud go wid mancini....gettin sacked 4 noncompetence in champions league is d reason 4 his sackin n that was d reason chelsea were unhappy by jose......so y gettin him...i want jose 4 A C milan
