The Political Economy of Football V2

Newcastle United have been fined a combined €6million (£5.2m, $6.8m) by UEFA and have entered into a stringent future compliance agreement after breaching the governing body’s Financial Sustainability Regulations (FSR). For the three-year period ending June 2025, Newcastle overspent relative to UEFA’s football earnings threshold, while they also exceeded their 70 per cent squad-cost ratio (SCR) across the calendar year of 2025, with their expenditure reaching closer to the 75-per-cent mark. UEFA has fined Newcastle €3m for the football-earnings overspend, plus a further €7m which is suspended pending future compliance, and another €3m for their SCR violation. While Newcastle appear pleased with the settlement, insisting they “worked closely and constructively” with UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) to “swiftly resolve the matter” — which involved senior figures, led by David Hopkinson, the chief executive, and Simon Capper, the chief financial officer, spending months in ...

Aston Villa have been fined €22.5 million for breaching UEFA’s squad cost ratio (SCR) limit — but will only pay €7.5m with the rest only payable if their compliance with the regulations takes a downturn. UEFA, European football’s governing body, say Villa will only have to pay the remaining €15m if the club’s SCR position does not continue to show improvements, having seen a reduction in percentage between 2024 and 2025. For the 2025 calendar year, Villa’s SCR was still found to be above the tightened 70 per cent limit imposed by UEFA. The €22.5m fine is the second most expensive fine to be handed out to a European club for 2025, behind Strasbourg (€25m). Chelsea, meanwhile, were found to have breached and were fined €3m, €2m of which was conditional. UEFA said in a statement: “Regarding Aston Villa FC and Chelsea FC, which had already been sanctioned in the previous season, the CFCB First Chamber took into consideration the improving trend in their squad cost ratio between 2024 ...

Chelsea’s ongoing struggle to comply with UEFA’s financial rules has seen the club hit with another fine, albeit one much reduced from a year ago. Europe’s football governing body announced on Tuesday the club had breached its squad cost ratio (SCR) limit in 2025, resulting in a €3million (£2.6m) fine, of which €2m (£1.7m) is conditional. The latter element will become payable if Chelsea do not continue to “significantly decrease” their SCR figure in 2026. The monetary punishment doled out for Chelsea’s 2025 transgression pales in comparison to those issued to them by UEFA last summer, when the club was found to have breached both their SCR limit and UEFA’s separate football earnings rule, which restricts overall losses at clubs competing in Europe. Chelsea’s failure to comply with the SCR limit in 2024 resulted in an €11m (£9.5m) fine. Their football earnings breach cost them a further €20m (£17.2m), alongside a threat of that increasing to a total of €80m (£69m) and the require...