Milan President Paolo Scaroni confirms UEFA “can and will” withhold the Europa League prize money as a fine for breaking Financial Fair Play rules.
The Rossoneri are seeking a settlement agreement with the governing body, having initially been thrown out of the Europa League, a decision overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Milan President Paolo Scaroni confirms UEFA “can and will” withhold the Europa League prize money as a fine for breaking Financial Fair Play rules.
The Rossoneri are seeking a settlement agreement with the governing body, having initially been thrown out of the Europa League, a decision overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
It was reported this morning that part of any agreement could include a fine, which would involve withholding prize money from this season’s European campaign.
“We’re waiting for the judgement,” Scaroni told shareholders today.
“UEFA can and will implement the suspension of prize money. The judges who barred us from the Europa League have, pending the sentence, have temporarily suspended the revenue that would come from the Europa League.
“We cannot put tonight’s revenue on the balance sheet, because we’re still awaiting the UEFA ruling. It’s money under warranty, around €2.5m has been withheld.”
Scaroni confirmed €96m has been made available to cover future losses, and was asked about contingency plans.
“We’ve set aside €18m, which is a prudent allocation. There are two areas of risk. One is UEFA.
“As you know our exclusion from the Europa League was overturned, but it’s not over. Our case has been sent back to the justice chamber, which must give us a penalty commensurate with our transgressions.
“The decision should arrive by the end of the year. We definitely won’t be cleared, because it’s difficult to make the same court which found you guilty chance its mind.”
Under previous owner Yonghong Li, huge revenue from China was forecast which amounted to just over €600,000…
“We consider China to be a crucial market,” Scaroni insisted.
“We don’t want to throw the baby out with the bath water. What we’ve done in China so far risks giving us a bad reputation, so we’ve decided to be present in China.
“We’ve moved our offices from Beijing to Shanghai and started again, to show a clean break with the past.
“The Chinese market is crucial for us. So China, yes, but in a different way.”