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Why financial fair play rules may be illegal

This is a rather technical legal article about financial fair play, but it is making an important point that I have been seeking to make for some time as a non-lawyer: there is a tension between Uefa financial fair play regulations and competition law: Deficiency of fairness

The article, written for Law and Sport, notes: 'UEFA has expended great effort in establishing a defence based on the objectives of FFP to any potential challenges under EU competition law. UEFA’s own reluctance to define precisely how the Regulations are to be applied may be a real weakness in that defence. UEFA have a potential problem which may well be tested over the next twelve months. It is certainly not beyond possibility that an affected undertaking (perhaps La Liga) may seek to exploit this issue.'

The article does suggest there may be a relatively simple work around, but there may be some interesting cases to come.

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