La Palabra S en Lisboa

Yesterday your humble correspondent was in the front row of a presser at the Web Summit.

Javier Tebas Medrano, the President of La Liga was taking questions and I wasn’t going to miss such an opportunity.

I asked him the following questions:

What is your opinion of the new UEFA Financial Sustainability Regulations?

Do you believe they are an improvement on the Financial Fair Play rules that were in force until June this year?

Do you think that these rules will prevent a reoccurrence of the situation that Barcelona is currently experiencing?

Speaking through an interpreter, he answered:

We start with sustainability. The change of name made by UEFA from Financial fair Play to a sustainability norm is already a message of what we believe will be the economic control of European football.

Therefore, I see them as a positive.

I am not very very happy, but I am quite happy. We could go further, but we hope that time will allow us to arrive there to our goal.

There is an important detail, however.

The norm shall be put in a written manner, and we must accomplish them with sanctions, as it happened before with PSG and Manchester City when they were already sanctioned by UEFA.

In conclusion, we are happy, and we hope that the norms will be respected and not with the intervention of a tribunal making silly decisions.

We hope for impartiality!

I shouldn’t have to argue that the president of La Liga is a big hitter in the hierarchy of European football.

It was clear to me that Señor Tebas Medrano views the effective enforcement of the new Financial Sustainability Regulations as a bulwark against the growing dominance of state-owned clubs like Manchester City and PSG.

Earlier in the day, I was at an excellent discussion on Sports Washing with Miguel Delaney (the Independent), and Joey D’Urso (The Athletic).

Rob Harris (Sky News) was in the chair.

They discussed the decision by FIFA to stage the World Cup in Qatar and the growth of EPL clubs being acquired by oppressive regimes in order to deflect public scrutiny from their appalling human rights records.

Obviously, the situation around Newcastle United also figured in the talk.

It is clear to me that if these new regulations are implemented fully, it will curtail how much these state-owned clubs in the EPL will be able to spend their way to silverware.

UEFA itself is quite clear about how the new FSR regime is a game change:

The new regulations will see clubs subject to squad cost controls for the first time. The cost control rule restricts spending on player and coach wages, transfers, and agent fees to 70% of club revenues. (The gradual implementation will see the percentage at 90% in 2023/2024, 80% in 2024/2025, and 70% in 2025/2026).

This move in European football to have sustainability at the heart of governance could have a major effect on the favoured franchise in Fair Caledonia.

On the basis of published accounts over, say, the last five years, there is only one club in Scotland that has anything to worry about if the president of La Liga gets his wish.

The S Word could start to make regular appearances in the nightmares of the Blue Room brethren and their delightful klanbase.

Ok, another presser this morning.

I just might have a question for Ukrainian Vice President Mykhalio Fedorov about the “digital war effort”.

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