UEFA could ban huge team from the Champions League and sanction two others
UEFA could be within its rights to ban giant of European football as it looks at what clubs have breached the specific rules required to play in the Champions League.
Every year, the governing body for European football looks in to potential rule breaches across all clubs taking part in its competitions. From the Champions League to the Europa League and more recently, the Europa Conference League, there are plenty of regulations football clubs must abide by to take part and have a chance of winning silverware.
And for 2025, it could result in one major ban as well as sanctions against two other clubs for breaches.
Chelsea, Aston Villa, and Barcelona are the three clubs at risk of action from UEFA due to breaches relating to financial irregularities.
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Barcelona could be banned by UEFA
Barcelona is the club that could be facing serious risk as they have been in FFP trouble for the second consecutive year, while Chelsea and Aston Villa also breached but face a lenient punishment.
The Catalan club appealed after they were found to have breached the UEFA rules last year, but were fined £420,000 by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
After giving the judgement, CAS also said: "A similar breach would be addressed by the imposition of a harsher disciplinary measure" from UEFA’s Club Financial Control Board (CFCB)."
The club decided to sell their broadcasting media rights and in-house content hub, in a bid to stay within the UEFA financial rules, but the organisation considered the funds to be 'profits on disposal of intangible assets.'
No Champions League for Barcelona?
According to Times, an FFP breach for the second year in a row could lead to serious implications for the Blaugranas.
The punishment is set to be announced soon and could likely be squad size reduction or points deduction. Last year, the club was given the possibility of a ban after one year of breaches, meaning the risk is higher for two years in a row.
Barcelona have been in financial turmoil for several years and have tried a lot of ways to gain some financial stability.
Chelsea and Aston Villa expected to be fined
Chelsea and Aston Villa also breached the UEFA's financial rules, but are expected to face not so severe punishments as they are first time offenders.
The London based club came at the top of Premier League's PSR charts after the sale of the Chelsea Women's team.
But UEFA did not approve of the sale to a sister company and this has led to the Blues likely facing a fine alongside another Premier League team Villa. According to Bryan King - a former scout of the team, Villa could face a £5 million fine.
Both Chelsea and Villa have held discussions with CFCB over a financial settlement. Chelsea qualified to the Champions League after a final day win in the Premier League over Nottingham Forest.
While Villa were in the competition last season and lost to eventual champions Paris Saint Germain in the Quarter-final. They will play in the Europa League next season after having failed to win against Manchester United on the final day of the season.
Topics: Aston Villa, Champions League, Chelsea, FC Barcelona, Football, UEFA
Godwin Mathew