December 14 – As if their misfortunes on the field weren’t enough after being eliminated from the Europa League, AC Milan have been slapped with a massive €12 million fine by UEFA and threatened with a one-season ban from European competition for breaking financial fair play rules.
UEFA said its club finance panel ruled the ban will be activated if Milan fails to break even on football-related business in June 2021.
If the club fails to comply, it will be banned for the next UEFA competition it qualifies for in either of the 2022-23 or 2023-24 seasons. UEFA also limited Milan to registering 21 senior players – instead of 25 – in its squad for the next two seasons of Champions League or Europa League action.
The fine is one of the biggest imposed since financial fair play sanctions were first imposed in 2014 and is another stark example yet that UEFA will not discriminate when it comes to punishing clubs who irresponsibly overspend.
UEFA originally banned Milan from the Europa League in June but the Court of Arbitration for Sport subsequently ruled that they should be readmitted since the penalty was too harsh given the club’s new business plan following a takeover by U.S.-based hedge fund Elliott Management.
That put the case back to UEFA’s adjudicatory chamber to come up with a new punishment.
To make matters worse, the once formidable Italians crashed out of the Europa League after losing 3-1 at Olympiacos in their final group game on Thursday.
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