The introduction of Financial Fair Play by UEFA in 2013 aimed to level the financial conditions of clubs qualifying for European competitions. However, giants Manchester City and PSG, controlled by ‘oil money’ from Arab countries, were under financial surveillance by UEFA for failing to comply with economic rules and heavy sanctions were expected for the two clubs. However, Gianni Infantino, at the time director general of UEFA, ‘worked’ in the shadows to ensure both clubs avoided consequences. ‘Football Leaks’, through the German daily ‘Der Spiegel’, revealed this Friday the collaboration between the manager and the top management of both emblems. In 2014, Manchester City faced suspension from European competition, due to Financial Fair Play violations. However, an email from Infantino, addressed to Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chairman of citizens, reassured the manager of the English club and listed some suggestions on how City could escape sanctions. Infantino reportedly held meetings with the leaders of the citizes and also with those of the French PSG, passing on material considered confidential on some occasions, which guaranteed an advantage in the negotiations held with UEFA that year. Infantino’s ‘hand’ wasn’t just given to the two giants. Within UEFA, the general secretary, reveals ‘Football Leaks’, tried to thwart the procedures of the CFCB (Club Financial Control Body, in English), the panel responsible for the financial analysis of clubs qualified for European competitions. The CFCB is made up of two bodies: the ‘Investigatory Chamber’, which can initiate proceedings against clubs and propose penalties, and the ‘Adjudicatory Chamber’, which judges infringements and imposes sanctions. However, in the spring of 2014, the investigative commission concluded an agreement with the two clubs in which it accepted sponsorship amounts from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. A deal that Infantino will have worked hard for.
Financial fair play allows for external investment but establishes a maximum amount: 15 million euros. On May 2, 2015, PSG, controlled by Qatari funds, saw an agreement signed with the CFCB in which its sponsorship contracts with the Qatar Tourism Authority would be worth €100 million per year. However, independent experts warned the panel that the real value would be well below the celebrated. With regard to Manchester City, with funds from the Emirates, the CFCB authorized the club to register in the accounts about three times more income than the real value – around 26 million euros per year. These ‘arrangements’ allowed the two clubs to escape UEFA scrutiny. The Parisians saw ‘disappear’ a deficit of 218 million euros, corresponding to the two previous seasons, and were fined 20 M€.
However, the deal with Manchester City was more difficult to seal. On the English side, threats of legal proceedings against UEFA were constant, on the European body’s side the will to find a basis of understanding that ‘served’ the two opponents, which was found on May 16, 2015, with the same penalty : 20 million euros.
Gianni Infantino has been FIFA President since February 2016.
