UEFA will explore making changes to Financial Fair Play rules as clubs deal with the sudden drop in revenue caused by league suspensions due to COVID-19. Though cost-control regulations were set to prevent European clubs from accumulating big losses, it forces clubs to spend only what they earn and restricts money injections from wealthy owners.
“A working group has been set up to look at how club licensing/FFP might need to adapt to take account of the extraordinary challenges that clubs face, as a result of the COVID-19 crisis,” UEFA told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “The situation is evolving fast and the working group is continuously monitoring the situation with the aim to come to a proposal in the coming weeks.” However, at this present time, a money injection is exactly what many European clubs need to continue to stay afloat. Spanish league president Javier Tebas, a long-standing advocate of FFP, relaxed his views on the rules but believes that the money should only be used for debt relief“If those people want to invest a lot of money into football ... to reduce the debt levels of clubs,” Tebas said, “well I think that would be studied and I think that could be possible.” With clubs like Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, and now Marseille under investigation for undocumented money flow, it’s paramount to make sure money injections are used for team survival.