Kahn: hope that development “at least slowed down”
Advocates of strong cost control also had to make concessions. For example, a fixed upper salary limit is no longer an issue. In the meantime, according to information from the sports show, a limit of 500 million euros was under discussion, which could have had an effect at least in the medium term if more money continued to come into play in European football. Bayern Munich also advocated such a limit.
Oliver Kahn, CEO of Bayern Munich and Deputy Chairman of the ECAcommented on the fundamental agreement in the newspapers “tz” and “Münchner Merkur” cautiously: “I have hope that the constant upward trend in salaries and transfer fees will at least be slowed down by this reform.”
In February also had DFL-Managing Director Donata Hopfen pleads for a salary cap. Salaries would move in dimensions that are difficult to understand. “That’s why I think football would be doing itself a favor if players’ salaries were regulated. Also because it would strengthen equal opportunities within Europe.”said hops in “Bild am Sonntag”.
New sanction: relegation from the Champions League to the Europe league
In the short term, however, another point is crucial. Because all rules are worthless if no sanctions are enforced for violations. And that was the weakness of the financial regulations of the past Uefa. According to media reports, Paris Saint Germain and Manchester City 2013/14 not from the Champions League been expelled even though they broke the rules. 2020 succeeded Manchester Citya lock in the Champions League prevent by legal means. For smaller ones teams attacked the Financial Control Chamber of Uefa on the other hand, from the point of view of some clubs, harder. The Financial Fair Play thus often created more dissatisfaction than Fair play.
In addition to the enforceability, the effectiveness of sanctions remains in view. In the meantime, some participants of the Champions League steered by sovereign wealth funds of rich countries like Qatar or the United Arab Emirates. Such clubs can easily factor fines into their overall strategy. A new form of sanction could provide a little deterrent in the future.
According to the latest status of negotiations, according to information from the sports show, a distinction should not only be made between financial sanctions and sporting exclusion from European competitions. In addition, a forced descent from the Champions League to the Europe league or in the conference league to be possible. What seems less consistent at first glance would still be a severe punishment: the differences in earnings between the competitions are enormous. And for the big clubs, only that counts anyway Champions League as a relevant stage. How decisively the UEFA Financial Control Body takes action in the event of violations will also be decisive in the future.