Barcelona Could Face New UEFA Sanctions for Financial Misconduct
Barcelona could face new sanctions for potential breaches of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations. Club sources have expressed their hope of avoiding severe sanctions.
In 2023, Barça was fined €500,000 for violating FFP rules. Now, they could face a more severe sanction, such as a points deduction for the next Champions League season or a limitation on the number of players they can register for the competition.
The alleged violation relates to the income recorded by the club in assets that are not considered relevant according to UEFA regulations.
To alleviate financial problems in recent years, Barcelona has obtained funds by selling a percentage of its broadcasting rights revenue, a stake in the club’s media company, and, more recently, future revenue from VIP seats at the Spotify Camp Nou, which is being developed.
These operations, known as ‘levers’, are accepted by LaLiga, but not by UEFA, which will announce any sanctions that Barcelona may receive at the end of this month.
Barcelona sources tried to minimize the severity of the possible infractions, indicating that they expect, at most, a small financial penalty.
Barcelona is preparing for a possible new accusation from UEFA after previously breaching FFP rules in 2023.
A club source commented: “We recently completed the financial audit process carried out by UEFA every two years. The findings and possible consequences arising from this audit have not yet been notified to the club.”“The main discrepancy lies in the fact that UEFA does not consider some operations as ordinary income, the so-called levers, unlike LaLiga’s criteria, which do consider them as ordinary operating income.”
The 2023 fine for Barcelona related to “the misreporting, in the 2022 financial year, of profits from the disposal of intangible assets [other than player transfers] that are not relevant income under the regulations.”The club took the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but lost last October.
The CAS said that the €500,000 fine was “relatively light” and warned Barcelona that it would face “more severe” sanctions if it violated the regulations again.
