Uefa tightens player ownership rules

[AG7]

The Guardian

Uefa tightens player ownership rules under Premier League pressure

• England and France ban third-party ownership of players

• Uefa regulations close loophole on selling stakes in players

Uefa has tightened its rules on third-party ownership of players after bowing to pressure from the Premier League and Ligue 1.

England and France are the only countries who ban the practice and they joined forces last year to lobby Uefa amid fears that clubs from other European nations could use it to circumvent Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.

Uefa has not gone as far as outlawing third-party ownership but it has closed a potential loophole by stating teams cannot use money gained from selling stakes in players to balance their books for FFP purposes.

Clubs must also formally declare any split in a player's economic rights. That should remove any potential advantage the rivals of English and French clubs might have had. FFP was established to prevent teams spending more than they earn and thereby limit the chances of them going bust as well as create a more level playing field.