Barcelona issue response over possible UEFA sanction – ‘The main discrepancy lies in…’ | OneFootball

Barcelona are once again in the spotlight for breaching UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules. Just a day after news broke that UEFA may impose penalties, Barcelona have responded to the news.

It is worth noting that Barça is being investigated for repeatedly failing to meet FFP regulations, despite having already been fined €500,000 in the past for providing incorrect financial details.

UEFA believes the club has continued to violate the rules, and this time the consequences could be more serious.

Possible punishments include a restriction on the number of players Barcelona can register for the Champions League or even a loss of points in UEFA competitions.

This comes despite the club qualifying for the Champions League as La Liga champions.

TV rights sale sparks dispute with UEFA

The heart of the issue lies in how Barcelona classified the sale of their TV rights in 2022. The club sold 10% of their rights for 25 years, and listed the income as “other operating income” in their accounts.

UEFA, however, insists that this should have been marked as “gains on losses on intangible assets” and argues that such revenue cannot be counted towards balancing the club’s books for FFP purposes.

FC Barcelona are facing possible sanction. (Photo by Linnea Rheborg/Getty Images)

Later that year, Barcelona sold another 15% of the TV rights for around €400 million. Once again, the income was not accepted as operating revenue by UEFA.

As a result, the governing body issued the earlier fine, which Barcelona appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but the appeal was unsuccessful.

Barcelona’s response to the allegations

In response to the ongoing situation, FC Barcelona released an official statement. The club clarified that they recently underwent a financial audit conducted by UEFA, a process that occurs every two years.

“We recently completed the financial audit process conducted by UEFA every two years,” a club source told ESPN.

“The conclusions and possible consequences arising from this audit have not yet been notified to the club.”

The club added that the main disagreement with UEFA is based on how certain income, especially from financial levers, is classified. While UEFA does not count it as ordinary income, La Liga does.

“The main discrepancy lies in the fact that UEFA does not consider some operations as ordinary income, the so-called levers, unlike the criteria of LaLiga, which does consider them as ordinary operating income.”

For now, Barcelona await further communication from UEFA. But it is clear that the club’s financial operations are once again under serious scrutiny, and the outcome could impact their European campaign next season.