Platini and the Slovak reality

(published in the Slovak daily Sport)

“A historic moment for football,” declared Michel Platini. But this statement wasn’t in reference to Saturday’s Champions League final, nor to some other athletic or organizational triumph. The UEFA president was commenting last Thursday on sanctions imposed by UEFA on several European clubs including the giants Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain for violations of financial fair play rules.

The English champions were hit with a hefty fine (€60 million, two-thirds of it suspended), restrictions on summer transfers (also €60 million unless balanced by outgoing sales), a wage freeze, a stricter spending cap than other clubs over the next two seasons, and a reduced Champions League squad—limited by four players. The violation seemed obvious, although the regulations contain several key exemptions (e.g., spending on infrastructure, academies, stadium naming rights, and player wages from before 2010). Still, the punishment was anticipated, and the club ultimately accepted the verdict and even negotiated the fine.

UEFA introduced the financial fair play rules in September 2009 to ensure that clubs would not outspend their income—initially allowing a transitional deficit of up to €45 million per year until the end of last season. Two years ago, the European Commission publicly supported the principles behind the rules. According to Platini, the goal of financial fair play is to help clubs maintain good governance—not to "kill" them, as in banning Manchester City from the Champions League. In England, national-level fair play regulations also apply; clubs like Queens Park Rangers—newly promoted to the Premier League—are already facing potential trouble.

So far, Slovak clubs have avoided financial fair play sanctions, though UEFA has penalized teams from Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Ukraine, Bosnia, and Latvia. Which raises a bigger question: how are other football regulatory rules monitored and enforced in Slovakia?

After the obligatory sanctioning of Dunajská Streda for a corruption scandal, we recently witnessed the bizarre case of the Slovak Football Association fining itself over its failure to manage the cup final. But when will we see the enforcement of more serious rules than basic arithmetic? When, for instance, will a club with overdue debts finally be denied a license for the top division? When will a club be warned for having a coach contact opposing players not only before a match but at any point during a valid contract? When will any penalty be handed down to a club or player who uses an unlicensed agent?

Even though we live in a country where the (non-)enforcement of the law remains a serious issue, playing by the rules must be made worthwhile for a critical mass of actors in Slovak football. Honest participants should have hope that free-riders will eventually be stopped - just as City was by UEFA. Only then will we be able to say: a historic moment for football - even in Slovakia.