Thursday, March 31, 2011

Ian Ayre: New Uefa Rules On Spending Should Be Hard And Fast

Uefa’s new financial fair play rules will be ‘killed’ if they are not applied equally across Europe, according to Liverpool’s incoming managing director Ian Ayre.

Ayre, who also confirmed Liverpool are pursuing naming rights for any new stadium, is concerned there will not be a level playing field when the rules come into force in 2014.

The regulations will ban clubs from European competition if they spend more than they earn, but the rules will initially be enforced by national associations and leagues.

Ayre says Liverpool’s recent takeover by American John Henry has cleared most of their debt so the club would comply with the regulations.

But he said: ‘These rules should be rules and should be hard and fast.

'What will kill the initiative or certainly stifle it is people easing themselves into it rather than the rules applying and everyone operating within them.

'You cannot have a half-rule process.

‘We see it as a positive step but the reservations around it are how it will be applied.

‘Will people be given grace periods, will sanctions be applied?

‘If it is not managed well, we would all question the outcome of it.’

Uefa’s head of club licensing Andrea Traverso said the rules were ‘a sort of soft salary cap’ and insisted they would be overseen by an independent panel to ensure it was being applied fairly.

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