Sports
15:14, 06-Nov-2018
PSG appeal over UEFA’s decision to reopen Financial Fair Play investigation
Updated
15:02, 09-Nov-2018
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Paris Saint-Germain have appealed to sport's highest court after UEFA reopened an investigation into whether the club had broken rules designed to prevent over-spending.
The court of arbitration for sport (CAS) said it had registered an appeal by PSG against the decision made by UEFA in September.
UEFA opened its original investigation in September 2017 after PSG, owned by Qatar Sports Investments, bought the Brazilian forward Neymar from Barcelona for 253m US dollars, more than double the previous highest price paid for a player.
PSG also signed the teenager Kylian Mbappe on loan from Monaco before buying him outright in July in a deal widely reported to be worth 20.52m US dollars.
UEFA wanted to know whether PSG had broken its Financial Fair Play (FFP) rule under which clubs must broadly limit their spending to their generated revenues. PSG have denied all along that any rules were broken.
The rules were introduced to try to stop wealthy owners buying success and distorting the market by investing large amounts into their clubs.
UEFA's Club Financial Control Board closed the investigation in June, saying the club had managed to comply with the rules for the financial years ending in 2015, 2016 and 2017. But in the following month, the head of the CFCB asked for the decision to be reviewed and, in September, it reopened the investigation.
Clubs can be expelled from European competition for flouting the rules but UEFA usually negotiates settlements with offenders.
CAS overturned a UEFA decision to bar Milan from this season's Europa League.
Source(s): Reuters