FFP settlement costs QPR £17m fine, £3m in legal fees and a debt write off of £22m

July 27 – English second-tier club Queens Park Rangers have agreed a settlement costing almost £42 million with the English Football League after an arbitration panel dismissed the  club’s claims that Financial Fair Play rules are unlawful.

The Championship club have also had to accept a transfer ban in January after a four-year legal battle over a breach of spending limits.

The settlement includes a £17 million fine, paying £3 million of the EFL’s legal costs and the agreement from club shareholders to write off £22 million of outstanding loans.

The case relates to breaking spending limits on QPR’s way to winning promotion to the Premier League in 2014, with wages of more than £75 million making up 195% of their turnover of £38.6 million.

The settlement was reached before QPR’s appeal, which was heard on 2 July, against the panel of arbitration’s ruling that FFP rules were both lawful and a fine of £41.965 million was not disproportionate.

QPR chief executive Lee Hoos said that while they felt they had a “strong case for appeal”, the settlement “is in the best interest of football as a whole”.

“QPR felt it was best to put this matter behind them to enable all parties to have certainty and allow us to continue focusing on running the Club in a sustainable manner, going forward,” Hoos added in a joint statement with the English Football League.

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