NYON, Switzerland: Paris Saint-Germain officials were at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon on Friday to plead their case in a Financial Fair Play (FFP) investigation, following reports that the French club risked sanctions.
PSG’s general manager Jean-Claude Blanc was one of those seen arriving at around 2.15pm (10.15pm Malaysia) and leaving almost three hours later. They did not stop to speak to gathered media.
A UEFA spokesperson said a decision was expected “at the start of June”.
UEFA opened an investigation into the newly-crowed French champions’ compliance with FFP rules at the start of this season, just weeks after they completed deals to sign Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
Neymar arrived for a world-record fee of €222 million (RM1.1billion) from Barcelona, while the club also signed Mbappe on loan from Monaco but with an agreement to sign the teen sensation in a €180 million (RM864 million) deal at the end of this campaign.
A report by British newspaper the Financial Times last week claimed that Qatar-owned PSG faced sanctions for breaching FFP rules with “overstated” sponsorship contracts to the tune of €200 million (RM960 million).
PSG have numerous deals with Qatari sponsors, including with telecommunications firm Ooredoo and the Qatar National Bank.
Introduced by European football’s governing body in 2010, FFP limits clubs to making losses of no more than €30 million (RM144 million) over three seasons.
PSG have already fallen foul of FFP. The club were fined €60 million (RM288 million) in prize money earned from playing in the Champions League in 2014.
Back then UEFA deemed PSG had artificially inflated their income using a sponsorship deal with another Qatari state-owned enterprise, the Qatar Tourism Authority.
A repeat offence could mean a more serious punishment, including in the worst case potentially being exluded from UEFA competitions.
However, the club from the French capital have been making moves to attract new sponsors, including a deal announced last month with Asian sports marketing firm Desports, which PSG have called “a groundbreaking multimillion euro agreement”. — AFP
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