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Uefa chief warns indebted clubs across Europe

08/10/2008

Uefa general secretary David Taylor has warned Europe's top clubs that accumulating heavy debts could see them removed from the Champions League and Uefa Cup in future.

The governing body fears that not only does the massing of huge debts put clubs at great risk but also gives them an unfair advantage over their competitors.

Uefa president Michel Platini has spoken about his desire to monitor and possibly limit clubs' debts in the past and Taylor says the time for action has come.

Speaking to the Leaders in Football conference in London Taylor said: "We cannot let things stay as they are."

Taylor said that although it was unlikely a club would be thrown out of a competition it remained a possibility, however, other forms of sanctions would be imposed first.

He added: "There would be forms of communication, even warnings, even reprimands before one would ever get to a situation of exclusion but it's absolutely possible. That is the ultimate sanction."

English clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool currently have high debts and Taylor would like to see Premier League clubs adopting a continental style of monitoring and control.

He said: "In some countries like Germany and Switzerland, stronger requirements are put on clubs in terms of bank guarantees and having no negative equity. These are the models we have to look at."

English clubs have prospered in European competitions in recent years and Taylor feels if the finances of clubs across the continent were all operating under the same rules then the competition could become more open again.