Table of Contents
The UEFA Champions League will be investigating of claims that Paris Saint Germain and Manchester City broke Financial Fair Play, which means spending more than your annual earnings.
Panel Focus & Title: Champions League Scandal
Should Paris Saint Germain and Manchester City be banned from European competition if found guilty of breaching the Financial Fair Play rule?
Suggested Intro:
The website known as Football Leaks have come out with documents (leaks) that could result in possible consequences. Today we will debate; if PSG and Manchester City should be banned if found guilty.
127 our experts are availableright now
Guests:
Steven Caldwell is a former Scottish football (soccer) player who played mostly as a center-back for teams such as Leeds United, Burnley, Sunderland and Newcastle. Caldwell also made 12 caps which is also known as appearances for his national team Scotland. After his MLS career with Toronto FC, he moved to a role with TSN as a soccer anchor and expert.
Sheldon Plener is a Sports Lawyer attorney who graduated from York University in 1974 and then attended the University of Windsor in 1977. Plener has a history of amazing accomplishments. Such as, sale of Polo Ralph Lauren brands in Canada, acquisition of the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and Canadian Tire Centre and representing Trump Corporation and Sheraton Hotels. Plener was also the primary leader in bring the Toronto Raptors to the Nation Basketball League (NBA). Plener was voted Lawyer of the year in 2019.
Pedro Mendonca Pinto is the Chief of Press at the Union of European Football Associations also known as UEFA. Pinto formerly worked as a sports anchor for CNN International based in Atlanta and London. Pinto has hosted the Champions League draw on many occasions, he has also hosted the FIFA World Player of the Year and the 2010 FIFA Ballon d’Or.
Background
Football Leaks publish an article that claims Paris Saint Germain and Manchester City have broken the Financial Fair Play. The FFP is when a team spends more money on inquiring players than the team makes per year from their sponsors and merchandising sales. From 2013-2015 teams were allowed to lose an annual of 45 million euros, but were switched to 30 million euros in 2016.
PSG and Manchester City were both found guilty of breaking the FFP in 2014. PSG was required to pay a 60 million euro fine and was only able to have half of their squad in European play, Man City was required to pay a 40 million euro fine.
Draft Questions
1.What happens if PSG and Manchester City get found guilty of cheating again?
- (Steven Caldwell)- “they should be excluded from the Champions League for a year at least plain and simple. If this was their first offense I could see a severe fine that should be placed, but this is their second time cheating. If you want to complete in the top competitions in Europe and you have to cheat you’re an utter moron. Look at teams like Atletico Madrid and smaller teams like FC Porto, they’re a lot smaller than PSG and Man City and they’re able to advance in the competition and don’t have the financial money you have and they still make it further than you”.
- (Pedro Mendonça Pinto)- “Well it’s a tricky situation for the board. On one hand, the teams have been found guilty to breaking the FFP a couple of years ago and both teams paid a harsh penalty for their actions. I’m sure opposing fans would be excited to know that two of the top teams aren’t able to compete and obviously give their preferred team a greater chance of tasting glory. However we always want to continue growing this competition and giving fans the best matches to watch, so we can also look into offering a different penalty so both teams can continue to play next season”.
- (Sheldon Plener)- “There are many other options that we can take a look at rather than banning these two teams. This competition is the highlight of every team and the star players of their season. There is many factors that come into play when determining if financial fair play was broke here, we have to look at all the revenue that came in from stuff such as ticket sales, endorsements, merchandise sales and most importantly the sponsorships. I can almost guarantee that both these teams will want to pay a fine rather than missing out on the Champions League”.
2.How do these scandals look on these teams?
- (Sheldon Plener)- “I don’t think this will change the look of either team. No team has even been proven guilty of breaking any rule, people are too quick to jump to conclusions and think they’ve done anything wrong. I think people are looking at what has happened in the past and using that as a doubt. We still have a long process to go through and I’m sure at the end people will have a different view”.
- (Pedro Mendonça Pinto)- “Well people can look at this in two different ways. Some people will look at this and think that they both are guilty right away given the history of the subject and what has happened to these teams in the past. But on the other hand, we cannot jump to conclusions without taking a full investigation into the matter. As of now, theses teams are being viewed in our eyes as two teams that just want to compete and try and lift the trophy at the end of the season”.
- (Steven Caldwell)- “This is a horrible look for both teams. When your the caliber of PSG and Man City and you have to break such a simple rule of not spending more than you make a year that just makes you look idiotic. I think if you’re a fan of either team you should be disappointed in your team’s actions. They both have been caught in the past for this action so why risk it again, what do you have to gain from this”.
3.What kind of effect will this have on the competition?
- (Pedro Mendonça Pinto)- “This could have a negative effect if both teams are found guilty because, these are two of the best teams in Europe with star players on either team such as Neymar, Mbappé, Cavani for PSG and Jesus, De Bruyne and Aguero for Man City. You would have some of the best players in the world missing out on putting on a show for the world to see”.
- (Steven Caldwell) “I completely agree with that”.
- (Sheldon Plener)- “I can also agree with this”.
4.Should the transfer market have caps on how much teams can spend on players?
- (Steven Caldwell)- “I don’t think this would be a good idea. This would mean that certain players like Ronaldo and Messi would have a cap as to how much teams can spend on them. This means that any teams who have a huge spending budget can buy almost any player or players without having to break the bank. This would not be good because teams like PSG who have so much money can just buy a bunch of really really good players without having to break their bank”.
- (Sheldon Plener)- “This could be a good thing for teams because they would know how much they have to pay for the player to release them from their current team. This would help with the fine little details that get overlooked sometimes”.
- (Pedro Mendonça Pinto)- “This is not the route that we would like to take. However, if it came down to this we could consider this as an option in the future if nothing gets resolved”.
5. Would you consider yourself to forgive both teams if they are guilty
- (Steven Caldwell)- “I don’t think I could. This is what ruins football, this would be twice were they cheated and this is not what we need”.
- (Sheldon Plener)- “I would be able to forgive them like I said before there are other punishments that they could face and that they would pay. If you could punish them right I’m sure they would never consider doing this again”.
- (Pedro Mendonça Pinto)- “I would find it hard for the vast majority of fans and opposing clubs to be able to forgive both teams. I can not speak on my own options at this moment, but I feel like most people wouldn’t be ok with the teams after this”.
