Uefa considers banning debt-ridden clubs from competing in Europe

David Taylor said teams would receive sufficient warning before a ban was imposed. Photograph: Caroline Blumberg/EPA


The Uefa general secretary David Taylor has warned that in future teams carrying excessive debt may be banned from taking part in European competitions. Speaking at the Leaders in Football Conference, where Football Association chairman David Triesman yesterday threatened to enforce a salary cap on England's leading sides, Taylor accused clubs of spending so irresponsibly that only a "white knight" could save them.

"There would be forms of communication, even warnings, even reprimands before one would ever get to a situation of exclusion but it's absolutely possible," said Taylor. "We are looking at strengthening the minimal financial criteria and other forms of self regulation that may impose greater standard on clubs that want to compete in European competitions and beyond that club football."

Taylor's remarks came 24 hours after Lord Triesman revealed English football clubs had amassed a debt of £3bn, and that last season's top four Premier League teams accounted for a third of that. Significantly, all four reached the quarter-finals of last season's Champions League.

Uefa's current club licence is issued annually in May and Taylor said this would now have to be reviewed in the light of serious overspending, perhaps copying the French model which, he said "looks at clubs over a period of time and has a continuous assessment of financial stability".

Whilst I am behind the idea morally I think it would be difficult to stop serious legal challenges to this ruling.

thats us £#%&!ed then

phew. It's a good thing we're not in debt anymore.

If they were to do this and get the fight all the legal blocks and so on, it would be amazing to see how quick our debt was paid off.

Fred UTD has no debt, dont worry.

Originally Posted by ScarFace

Fred UTD has no debt, dont worry.

we have to pay wiganste's wages

Manchester United are not in debt
Red Football or whatever the gimps call themselves are

£#%&! uefa/fifa

all the top clubs should just start their own league

Well, they didn't have any problem with Real Madrid being $400 million in debit when they won the European Cup in 1998 Or when the likes of Lazio were spending £#%&! loads of money they didn't have! @#%&!s.

Anyway, had this rule been in place before 2005, our takeover may never have happened. As it is, FIFA, UEFA and the FA all stood by and did £#%&! all while our club was plunged into huge debit. But now that the Premiership is the dominate League in world football, this has become an issue? £#%&!ing bullshit.

Hopefully they will ban games from being played at Wembley then seeing as they're in massive debt.

And presumably all players must be bought up front with a debit card?

If we were still a debt free club and say Chelsea had won the EC whilst up to their ears in debt, we'd be moaning like £#%&!. We'd also say this was a good piece of legislation. Debt will be a dirty word soon and if this passes, football will benefit in the long term. If it also helps rid us of the Glazers, all the better. It may hurt us initially but it will benefit more than it harms.

Originally Posted by plopborsky

thats us £#%&!ed then

I clicked on this thread to post those exact words

Kudos

Originally Posted by Ginlarde

£#%&! uefa/fifa

all the top clubs should just start their own league

Yeah, a Champions league without the top clubs, all of which have some kind of debt, would attract bugger all TV revenue.

As you say a breakaway league funded by TV would be a certainty & would be the end of UEFA.

Originally Posted by LaPaz

Yeah, a Champions league without the top clubs, all of which have some kind of debt, would attract bugger all TV revenue.

As you say a breakaway league funded by TV would be a certainty & would be the end of UEFA.

But who would really want a breakaway league?

Originally Posted by wiganste

But who would really want a breakaway league?

nestle, they could sponsor it

Originally Posted by wiganste

But who would really want a breakaway league?

The club owners if the price is right.

clubs as far as i know are under no obligation to enter the premier league, champions league etc

if the money was right and i could see it being so, they easily create a super league with the top clubs in europe.

If they enforced the rule there would probably be four clubs left who'd all get a bye to the semis.

maybe they could have a competition for the debt free

debt free clubs, full of debt free players, reported on and broadcasted by debt free media, sponsored by entirely debt free companies, and watched by people who have zero debt

ace