AC Milan have been referred to the adjudicatory chamber of the UEFA club financial control body for an alleged breach of Financial Fair Play regulations.
Milan qualified for the Europa League group stage following a 5-1 win against Fiorentina on the last weekend of the Serie A season, but now risk being excluded from the competition as part of possible sanctions.
Milan spent more than €200 million (then nearly $250m) on new players amid questions over the financial stability of the Chinese-led consortium that purchased the club from Silvio Berlusconi for $800m in April 2017.
UEFA has been examining documentation and explanations provided by the Serie A club but a statement said “the circumstances of the case do not allow the conclusion of a settlement agreement.”
The breach involves, in particular, the break-even requirement. However, Milan general manager Marco Fassone had expressed optimism after initial meetings in April with UEFA that the club would escape harsh sanctions such as a transfer ban or expulsion from European competitions.
UEFA’s statement added: “The CFCB investigatory chamber is of the opinion that, among other factors, there remains uncertainties in relation to the refinancing of the loan and the notes to be paid back in October 2018.
“The adjudicatory chamber will make a decision on this case in due course.
“The CFCB investigatory chamber will further communicate in June its other decisions in relation to the monitoring of the clubs under investigation or under settlement agreement.”
Additional possible punishments include limits on transfer spending, player salaries, and squad sizes for UEFA competitions.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.
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