Chelsea and Aston Villa are both set to be fined by UEFA after the Premier League clubs breached the governing body's financial rules, according to reports
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 15: Detailed image of the Premier League Logo & branding during the Premier League International Cup Final between Crystal Palace FC U21 and Jong PSV U21 at Selhurst Park on May 15, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images)
Two Premier League clubs face UEFA punishments(Image: Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images)
Chelsea and Aston Villa are both poised to face penalties for violating UEFA's financial regulations, while La Liga giants Barcelona are bracing for more severe repercussions. The two Premier League outfits are expected to be slapped with fines by the governing body of European football due to first-time infringements.
Chelsea are believed to have surpassed UEFA's restrictions on financial losses for the previous season, as they were not permitted to account for the revenue generated from the sale of their women's team. The team was purchased by sister company Blueco 22 Midco Limited for a record-breaking £200million, a transaction that sparked much controversy.
Contrary to the Premier League, UEFA does not permit clubs to include income derived from asset sales to sister companies. Chelsea announced in April that they had 'entered into discussions regarding mitigating factors affecting their regulatory submissions'.
Villa are also reportedly guilty of breaching these limits, as per the Times. UEFA permits teams to incur losses up to a maximum of €200m (£170m) over a three-year span.
Clubs can offset these losses through expenditure on youth and women's teams, as well as stadium and facility improvements, reports the Mirror.
Last year, Villa were hit with a £52,000 fine for late submission of their accounts. This serves as another setback following Unai Emery's squad narrowly missing out on Champions League qualification.
Barcelona seem to be sinking into deeper waters. In October, the freshly crowned Spanish champions lost an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over a €500,000 (£420,000) fine from UEFA due to incorrect profit declarations. The panel deemed the penalty as 'actually relatively mild'.
The CAS verdict also unveiled a caution that Barca could face 'harsher' penalties for another violation. "The CFCB... highlights that a similar breach by the club in the 2023-24 monitoring process would constitute a case of recidivism and would be addressed by the imposition of a harsher disciplinary measure on FC Barcelona," the ruling declared.
Potential punishments for Barcelona could encompass a reduced quota on the number of players they can enlist for the upcoming Champions League season or even a deduction of points. Their financial woes are well known, although sporting director Deco maintains they won't need to offload any of their star players during the summer transfer window.
"I knew it would be difficult when I joined with the financial rules - it is not a financial problem, but the financial fair play rules in Spain are more stringent than the Premier League and in other countries," Deco told BBC Sport.
"It is a problem for a lot of clubs, you just hear about Barca because we are a big club. You need to work with it, see how you can improve the team and the combination of La Masia [their academy] players and experienced players has been important."
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