UEFA Financial Fair Play Update

In June 2010, RTG wrote a piece about UEFA’s impending Fair Play Rules. Further details have since come to light which have clarified some of the rules. Firstly, we bemoaned the fact that the ‘carpet baggers’ like the Glazers, Hicks and Gillettes of this world, would still be allowed to continue to undertake highly leveraged buy-outs of football clubs. We now understand that this is not the case.

The amount of debt allowed by any club will be limited to the annual turnover of the club. Currently, both Chelsea and Manchester United fail this test. This explains United’s reported effort to make shares available on the Singapore stock market - a move that will turn that debt into shareholder equity but without the business restrictions that a London placing of the shares would entail.

Secondly, the ‘sugar daddy’ element, which up to now has seen Roman Abramovich and Sheikh Mansour financially dope their teams over the last few years, will also have restrictions in place. At the time of our first article, it was widely reported that any extra investment could be made as long as that investment was turned into equity and not debt. Again, this is not the case. UEFA have clarified the rule and there will be a gradually reducing level allowed, thereby progressively curtailing the ability of such sugar daddies to influence unduly transfer markets.

The real test, though, will be in the ability of UEFA to control and monitor its own rules effectively. Given how British football authorities have failed so categorically to enforce simple tests of ownership rules, RTG is really not confident. The real indicator will be to see how this summer’s transfer dealings go. If half the rumours that abound are true, then both Chelsea and Manchester City will embark on yet another transfer splurge. If so, you can bet that they are not the slightest bit worried by Financial Fair Play despite both failing by miles to meet the terms of the new rules.

Marching Into The Abyss 2012 Style

The 2012 part of the 2011-2012 season has already given plenty of opportunities for RTG to get blogging. From criminal courts to bankruptcy courts, from racist allegations to resignations, through players refusing to play and then having to play, the first two months of 2012 have certainly illuminated the issues on which RTG has been campaigning.

RTG can’t be the only ones who were astonished by the flimsy criminal case that the tax authorities brought against Harry Redknapp, basically one that rested on his word against another. But it seems RTG is amongst the very few who were even more astonished as to the ethics, accepted as normal by all in court and by most of the media (as far as we know), of managers taking a commission on player sales. Add to that ethical question the fact that this was at the time that the financial implosion at Portsmouth started, and then it should raise alarms for all true minded football supporters.

As if by divine coincidence within a few days of the trial, Portsmouth was put into administration again, ten points were deducted from them again and the administrators now say that it’s very likely that they will fold before the end of the season. Meanwhile, step forward the next England Manager…..Whatever the future holds for Portsmouth, it is clear that their problems were sown by some very ethically dubious dealings and compounded by the continuing failings at the FA in applying their so called ‘fit and proper’ rules on club ownership.

We may complain about the English FA incompetence and we could continue to bleat about the fact that most of its bigwigs are failed business men, but for once the Scottish FA seem to have outdone their southern rivals. The financial mess that Glasgow Rangers find themselves in and the reports and rumours circulating as to some of the irregularities that Rangers owner, Craig Whyte, may have perpetrated, leave even a cynical RTG astounded. How Scottish football could have allowed one of its jewels in the crown to get to this sorry state is a salutary lesson for all supporters – even those that feel they are behind an impregnable financial force field. Basically, there are just so many examples of how football’s administrators throughout the world are either financially corrupt or incompetent – or both.

All this doesn’t bode well for UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules. If football administrators can’t spot “bad ‘uns”, how on earth are they going to work through the smoke and mirrors of financial accounts, offshore companies and subsidiaries to make their fair play rules work? Watch this space because RTG is planning on raising this issue many more times.

On the plus side, racism has been elevated into the football consciousness. Plus side? Well yes. The casual racism as exemplified by the Ron Atkinsons and other little Englanders of his ilk, was never really addressed by football which, as a body, seem to content itself that monkey-noises and banana throwing were a thing of the past. The Suarez case and the pending criminal case against John Terry, whilst distressing to the injured parties and the defendants, gives all involved in football, the chance to debate and address these issues.

On the downside, the Terry race row seemed to give the perfect opportunity for Fabio Capello to jump ship. Now RTG was a great advocate of Capello’s appointment. This was based on the premise of “if he can’t do it, then no one can”. Well it’s clear he couldn’t do it and that he really didn’t want to continue to do it, even for the remaining few months of his contract. Where this leaves England, RTG has written about before and will again in the future. Suffice to say that RTG is not impressed that Capello walked away with a pay-off of £1.5 million – Capello seemingly having a media gag applied, says much also.

These are just some of the issues that emerged/re-emerged since RTG last published. We haven’t even begun to address the Tevez situation and the player power issue, but suffice to say that since we last wrote, football marches ever more steadfastly away from the sport that we love and into the cold spiny embrace of corporate values, marketing plans and incompetent/corrupt football administrators.

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Forget Liverpool. TV Deal Not Fair On Supporters

"What is absolutely certain is that, with the greatest respect to our colleagues in the Premier League, if you’re a Bolton fan in Bolton, you subscribe to Sky because you want to watch Bolton. Everyone gets that. Likewise, if you’re a Liverpool fan from Liverpool, you subscribe. But if you’re in Kuala Lumpur there isn’t anyone subscribing to Astro or ESPN to watch Bolton, or if they are, it is a very small number."

Ian Ayre, Managing Director, Liverpool FC

In truth, Ian Ayre was not just making a case for Liverpool negotiating its own foreign broadcasting rights – although RTG admits that we are not clear as to what he is really saying. However, if you read between the lines of his statement he is saying that the entire system for sharing Premier League TV revenue is unfair be it in the UK or abroad. Yes, we understand that the deal for selling rights abroad, where all revenue is split equally, with 5% going to each club, is perhaps particularly weighted against clubs like Liverpool and Manchester United. Their following abroad is far greater than most. But if you’re against the collective approach in one arena then you are surely against it full stop. It is totally illogical to highlight it as a problem in one area and not the other.

Thankfully, for the moment, it seems that the rest of the Premier League clubs are not so keen, yet, on backing Liverpool in its stance. That may well change and become more urgent for those clubs who will fail UEFA’s new Financial Fair Play rules. For the Premier League to be viable as a viewing spectacle, and for clubs at lower levels to compete, there must be a degree of revenue sharing. In England last season, champions Manchester United picked up £60.4m in revenue as against £39.1m for lowest earners, relegated Blackpool – only around 50% more. Compare this situation to La Liga in Spain where Real Madrid and Barcelona negotiate their own TV deals. There, Madrid earned 19 times more TV revenue than teams finishing lower down the league. La Liga has reached the point where only two teams are ever likely to win the championship. The European Union has spent the best part of 50 years attempting to ensure fair and equitable trading conditions for all 27 member states, and yet, for football it totally ignores these inequities.

Just because the proposal has received such a negative response, doesn’t mean we can be complacent about it. As commercialism becomes increasingly more important than the sport of football itself, it is surely only a matter of time before the need to boost revenues in the short-term will outweigh the desire for a revenue-sharing collective that looks after the interests of the sport itself. In 2005, Chelsea first put the issue of self-negotiation of TV deals to the vote, presumably in a bid to meet Peter Kenyon’s 2010 break-even target. They were defeated 19 to one by the other clubs. It takes 14 Premier League clubs to vote in favour of any motion to change the way the Premier League operates. The greater number of rich, foreign owners we allow to take over clubs in a bid to compete financially, or even just to survive, the more the likelihood that commercial interests will eventually supersede any emotional ties that exist in preserving English football.

In RTG’s opinion, the whole issue of football on TV needs to be re-thought and given a total makeover in order to protect the interests of supporters and the game of football that we love, rather than a few wealthy owners, the Premier League and Sky TV. We don’t profess to have all the answers but we do know that our interests are not currently being looked after.

Take the present situation with Sky Sports. The current model is based on a previous time when we had precious little live football on TV. We pay a monthly fee to watch the games that Sky chooses for us to watch rather than the game we choose to watch. Those supporters who choose to attend live matches have to fit around the needs of TV scheduling – like it or lump it. We live in a time now where there is so much more live football on TV that this current model is outdated. Surely supporters should be given what they need – not what Sky wishes to push out. To add insult to injury, football supporters end up having to subsidise other minority sports such as Premier League darts, fishing and masturbation for the unemployed aka Aerobics Oz Style.

Consider this idea from RTG. At a fixed time over the weekend, every game in the Premier League is shown live and we pay to watch the game we want to watch. A recent report in the Guardian stated that there is a worldwide annual audience of 304 billion people for Premier League football. If only one pound was charged to watch these matches (ie £304,000,000,000!) this would totally dwarf the current £1.4 billion per annum deal that Richard Scudamore so proudly boasts about. The Premier League could commission its own broadcaster to show these matches on a pay per view or offer a variety of tailored packages, with occasional free to air matches, at different kick-off times to stimulate interest. The revenue would still be shared out among the clubs with home gates being a factor in how much goes to each club. Yes, it would favour clubs with bigger grounds and with more support but the onus would then be on clubs to improve their grounds, get more supporters through the turnstiles and improve the match day experience all round. With more money coming into the game rather than going into the pockets of Rupert Murdoch, Sky and the Premier League executives, clubs could afford to lower prices in order to fill up and improve their grounds. The more supporters they get into the ground, the more money they get from the TV revenue. The end result of this would be:

1. Supporters would be able to watch the match of their choice;

2. Clubs would be encouraged to fill their grounds and would have the money to improve stadia comfort and access;

3. We would not be contributing to the coffers of Murdoch and Sky but our money would go back into the game;

4. Tickets for fans to go to games would be cheaper as well as the match day experience being a lot better.

At some point in the future, it is inevitable that all games will be shown live. We should anticipate and embrace this significant change and not wait for a handful of self interested owners and administrators to dictate its terms. Let us state again, we don’t have all the answers here and this model would have to be debated thoroughly. But it gives the game back to its customers – the supporters. If we carry on down the road we are currently going, the money will increasingly be concentrated in the hands of a few wealthy people to the detriment of supporters and football itself. Sign up and help us to Reclaim the Game.

UEFA’s Useless ‘Fair Play’ Rules Bad News for Fans

Last week, UEFA passed unanimously new “financial fair play regulations” that will come into force from the 2012 financial reporting period for all European clubs that wish to maintain a license to compete in European competitions.

At first glance – and it is only a glance, since UEFA will not be publishing details in full until an unspecified date in June – the regulations appear to be laudable. The main proposal is very simple – a club can only spend what it receives in income. Presumably, this was an effort to level the playing field in preventing clubs from “cheating” by stopping wealthy benefactors distorting competition. The main proposal is flexible in that the revenues to expenditures are assessed over three years and allows shortfalls of up to £38 million. Sanctions, as yet not detailed, will be liable to be applied from the 2013/2014 season.

However, according to a Guardian report on 28th May, these shortfalls can be met by club “sugar daddies” and that these subsidies will only gradually reduce until the 2019/2020 season. Again, no details exist about what happens after that period. In addition, the regulations allow Club owners to invest in “infrastructure projects” such as: stadiums; training facilities; and youth development – but only if they appear as equity and not as loans on the club’s balance sheet. Short fall subsidies will also have to be taken as equity and not loans.

RTG applauds the original intention, but as always once politicians and pseudo politicians get involved they mess it up. Yet again, the vested interests of a few have impacted what is essentially a set of compromises by UEFA. All they have really managed to do is to switch the on-field battles firmly into the board room. But by far the worst “compromise” is in allowing the carpet baggers like Glazer/Gillette/Hicks to be able to continue their debt-loading of clubs, enriching themselves at the expense of their clubs’ histories and supporters. Meanwhile, the sugar daddies will be able to continue their game ruinous inflation of transfer fees and salaries for the next two years, with some restrictions in future years.

What UEFA has also totally failed to address is the issue of fairness regarding TV deals, which form a significant part of revenue for major European clubs. How is it that, in Spain, Real Madrid and Barcelona are allowed to negotiate their own TV deals, earning in Real’s case over £100 million last year? Likewise in Italy, while in England the Premier League has a collective shared agreement. How long before a regulation struggling United, Chelsea or Manchester City start to agitate for similar agreements here?

UEFA say that the “fair play” rules will be regulated by a new UEFA body headed up by a former Belgian Prime Minister. They also acknowledge that it will have to put in place strict assessments to prevent financial cheating – over valued sponsorships being singled out as a potential area by UEFA’s own web site pronouncements.

RTG say that if the experienced regulatory bodies governing the world trading markets have allowed Goldman Sachs, Leahman Brothers, Bernie Madoff and a host of others to conduct their financial shenanigans – in some cases over decades, what hope have a non-legally binding set of football administrators in achieving fair play?

No, RTG has thought long and hard over what is good for the game and still believe that unless a formula, whereby supporters are put in the forefront of managing their clubs is devised, without debt and without recourse to wealthy individuals, football will bury itself in its own commercial abyss. There are supporter owned clubs and whilst not all models could be defined as ideal for the good of the game (Real Madrid for a start), better and cleverer minds surely exist to be able to meet the developing and future needs of football – as a sport. Not one that is a compromise on continuing the status quo: carpet baggers, dodgy deals and sugar daddies.

And on a final note, given that most clubs will need to boost their incomes to meet the new regulations, guess who will end up having to pay?

The Keeper

...he Shoots, He Fumbles, He's Scottish!

Accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative Bing Crosby sang. Clearly words that struck a chord with newly appointed England captain Rio Ferdinand before his first game in charge last week. And why not? When asked about the Wembley pitch he located the positive where nobody else had managed to do before him. By alluding to the fact that the players had no idea what the pitches would be like in South Africa, he assured the watching public that, should any of them turn out to be less than perfect, playing at Wembley would prove to be the perfect preparation. Any of you out there who thought that it was an appalling error of judgment on the part of the FA not to make the quality of the pitch the overriding objective in a national football stadium can eat your words. It seems it turns out to have been a masterstroke of genius to have produced something akin to playing football on a sheepskin rug on a newly polished floor on the off chance that it replicates the pitches in South Africa. Surely this has to be the 2010 version of Rio’s World Cup Wind Ups.

Still, nevertheless, it was good to see positive vibes coming from the head of the England team. Sadly, the previous incumbent, John Terry’s, reputation was done further harm this week by the news that yet another member of his family had fallen from grace. We’ve had his mum caught shoplifting, his dealing cocaine (again!) and JT himself playing away from home with Wayne Bridge’s girlfriend and asking for brown envelopes stuffed with cash to show people round the Chelsea training ground. The Keeper was not surprised, therefore, when he heard this week that JT’s brother Paul has been caught having an affair with one of his Rushden and Diamonds team mate’s missus. Wherever there is a scandal to be found, the Terry family will be around. The Keeper is just relieved that JT is not England skipper anymore as “lifting the World Cup” might mean something completely different in his world and we might never have seen it again.

The fallout from Lord Triesman’s departure continues with news that Ian Watmore’s departure came also because his plans for reforming the FA were not popular, in particular with the Premier League. When he presented his 20 point plan for reform to Richard Scudamore, he apparently described Richard Scudamore’s reaction to it as if he’d deposited a “bucket of sick” in the room. The Keeper can exclusively reveal that this had nothing to do with Watmore’s plans at all. In fact, the staff had been making far too much use of the freebies offered by FA official sponsors Carlsberg and MacDonalds!

RTG reported last week that Fabio Capello had a post World Cup get-out clause removed prior to Lord Triesman’s resignation. The Keeper has found that these reports were not true. This just illustrates succinctly the shambles that the FA is in. Just two weeks before England’s first game, Capello is still in doubt over his long term future as England coach

Following his Dutch success, ex-England manager Steve McClaren took over this week at the helm of Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. He has proved himself to be the master of chameleon-like re-invention in adapting himself to suit his environment. He successfully transformed himself from the ‘Wally with the Brolly’ to Dutch ‘total football’ coach, complete with plausible ‘akshent’, to, pictured here at his first press conference, German autocrat in auto town. Congratulations Steve.

A Week to Wonder: What's Happening?

Football endured a tempestuous time this week including arrests on suspicion of corruption in the game, more bribery rumours/allegations and controversial issues which have been discussed and illustrated in previous posts by RTG. However you look at events this week, it is hard not to feel like the game is moving further away than ever from what supporters would call ‘reality’.

The England manager’s job appears to be turning into a PR fest, not helped by the FA’s appalling handling of the process last time around. As usual, the FA appear not to be doing anything. However, perhaps we are being unfair as RTG has no idea on the workings of the committees of the sub-committees and various points of order (Mr Chairman).

Candidates and their agents are professing not to be interested, then very interested, all within the space of 24 hours. Today’s papers have Jose Mourinho still saying, "come and get me" and "here’s my plan", while others claim he is waiting for a big club job and is using the England job as leverage in other discussions. However, due to the ponderous processes that the FA appears to operate under, it may be that, as the most ‘popular’ choice, Mourinho may well be bagged by someone else. After all, with the transfer window coming up, it would seem logical that a man of his ability would be snapped up by a leading European team. AC Milan for one!

One of the names being touted to succeed McClaren, Harry Redknapp was one of those arrested and released on bail this week. Presumably this is as an initial result of the recent Stevens inquiry and it is rumoured that more arrests will follow. This at least answers the question RTG posted some weeks ago as to what had actually happened here. How long will we wait for the next events to unfold regarding this matter? Possibly too long for Redknapp to ever be considered for the job (if indeed he ever was a serious candidate). The threat of more arrests may be impacting the selection process already.

The undue haste with which the FA despatched Steve McClaren’s P45 would seem to suggest that they had a ‘plan’ in place, wouldn’t it? It does not look like it, at the moment. What makes RTG worried is that, once again, we will end up with nothing more than a compromise candidate chosen by a combination of media pundits, ill-informed xenophobes and an FA under financial pressure. Don’t book your flights for South Africa 2010 just yet either.

Reclaim the Game – The Weekend’s Events

• More controversy involving referees at the weekend saw Phil Dowd (again) apparently refer to the fourth official – Uriah Rennie (well it would be wouldn’t it) – and presumably the TV feed, in sending off Robbie Keane. Aside from the hilarity of listening to Andy Gray trying to lip read what Mr Dowd was saying, it has, once again, clouded the issue of video evidence. Let’s hope the FA don’t punish an irate manager as he berates a fourth official into looking at the evidence of a dubious decision. The use of video evidence seems to have come in through the back door (remember Zidane’s sending off in the World Cup final). The only real reason this was especially highlighted yesterday was because the video evidence appeared to prove the officials got the decision wrong, or at least was still inconclusive. Which all just shows what RTG has long thought: the controversial decisions won’t go away just because technology is at hand; it will just shift into a more technical arena. But, the referees will not be in charge of the game.

• UEFA are investigating certain European matches (as yet undisclosed), thought to be Champions League and UEFA Cup qualifiers, for match fixing involving an Asian betting syndicate. Michel Platini is taking a hands-on approach and RTG awaits the outcome in his first major test as UEFA’s president. RTG was somewhat amused when parts of the media implied that some of Croatia’s Euro 2008 qualifiers were involved and that this might give a back door entry for England. This desperate wishful thinking might have more to do with pundit contracts being lost and drink-fuelled jollies to Austria and Switzerland having to be put on hold. No doubt the BBC will still find the budget to send Chris Hollins and Nicky Campbell to bake cakes, wear lederhosen and interview drunk fans in the street.

• Speaking of all things Euro 2008, the draw was held yesterday for the group stages of the tournament. It seems like it is of a better standard, and harder to win than the World Cup, so why spoil the potential of the tournament by allowing the draw to put three of the best teams in the same group. No disrespect to Romania intended. The draw was made a farce by the need to accommodate the two hosts as number one seeds. Clearly a stupid situation and why we should only have a single host for tournaments. It might be argued that this is the only way some countries will get to host such an event but, with only two venues above 32,000 capacity, these two should not have been awarded it in the first place. Look, if Mexico, a third world country, can successfully host a world cup with large venues, then rich nations like these should be able to make more of an investment in what is the second largest international tournament in the world.

• Aaaahh, the romance of the third round of the Famous FA Eon Cup™. The draw was held yesterday amid the usual anticipation of ‘David v Goliath’ and ‘a money-spinning tie’ for the minnows. Amazingly, Manchester Utd drew Aston Villa in the third round for the fourth time in seven years. What seems to have been missed is that, had United not pulled out of the 2000 competition, it would have been five in eight as the so-called ‘lucky losers’, Darlington (who replaced United in the draw) drew guess who? Statistically this seems highly improbable as well as a real bummer for Villa fans.
  
  Hats Off, Take a Bow! (or not).

Player of the week: Fernando Torres - playing sublimely and so surreal like, that you might just believe that Liverpool will break their 18 year taboo of winning the English league.

Villain of the week: all those that believe in video evidence - No! It's not going to work. It won't until we get 'feel around' - or is it 'sense around'?

Heroes of the week: FC Stuttgart Team and Supporters. Everybody in the UK paid scorn on their lap of honour when they picked up their only points in the Champions League. They gave it as a thankyou to their fans who had supported them (a full stadium, when they were already out of the competition). Treated cynically by the British press, yet a heart felt gesture.

Shock of the week: the Arrests! Without judging already, RTG really didn't believe any action would be taken from the Stevens Inquiry. Let's hope, however, that guilty parties are taken down and for those not found out, that this is a warning.

Cliche of the week: "I am interested, I am not interested" - in the England job, of course.