Multi Club Ownership- UEFA May Act

[Quntib Hollox]

Was listening to Talksport this morning and they mentioned that UEFA will be holding a meeting regarding the issues surrounding owners who have control over more than one club and how to safeguard sporting integrity.
They were debating what controls they could impose.
This could have major implications for a lot of clubs . Man City, Brighton,Brentford and of course Forest.
Anyone got any thoughts on the subject and how this could impact us?

 

[Captain Sinister]

UEFA: shutting the door after the camel has bolted.

 

[Ashley]

I think the impact on us would be minimal, particularly now in the Premier League. Any new rules might prevent us from doing Olympiacos any more Hwang/Bowler-esque "favours", but that's about it.

 

[Bob D'Imsen]

The Squires cartoon in the Grauniad today deals with the subject in quite a pertinent way. Those middle panels . . . . . I think I have something in my eye!

https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...-across-the-multi-club-iverse-with-strasbourg

 

[Rzar]

I doubt it would impact anything - they can't and won't restrict trade between clubs. My guess is if they are bothered, they'll just said up a "fair price" panel for player transfers between clubs and not allow instant loaning of players. But when has that really been abused anyway?

For me, the only club where it has become troublesome was at Watford - they have always tested the limits. But a limit on loans was introduced because of them and that seemed to sort the major issue.

If it's about teams playing in the same competition, that would be impossible to enforce because they'll just put clubs in other people's names. E.G. We would put ours in Kominakis' name, or his son's. That's what the Pozzo's already do.

 

[Rzar]

UEFA: shutting the door after the camel has bolted.

I don't think that's the case at all. I think if they are doing anything - they are trying to get in before problems occur.

It's not really an issue in football as things stand.

But let's say Saudi want a team in every country and pump billions in each of them, there could be a Champions League last 16 all owned by the same person. That would be shutting the door after the camel bolted.

 

[Quntib Hollox]

It’s pretty widespread now and like the Captain said it should have been addressed a long time ago when the likes of Watford started taking advantage.
Some of the points raised were the possibility of an owner only having a majority stake holding in one club. If that were to happen I couldn’t see him throwing big money at us. Olympiacos I presume would be his first priority if it came down to it.

 

[Quntib Hollox]

I don't think that's the case at all. I think if they are doing anything - they are trying to get in before problems occur.

It's not really an issue in football as things stand.

But let's say Saudi want a team in every country and pump billions in each of them, there could be a Champions League last 16 all owned by the same person. That would be shutting the door after the camel bolted.

Part of the debate regarded the possibility of Brighton playing Tony Bloom’s other team in the Europa League and the issue around maintaining sporting integrity.

 

[Rzar]

Part of the debate regarded the possibility of Brighton playing Tony Bloom’s other team in the Europa League and the issue around maintaining sporting integrity.

Yeah that I can maybe understand. Red Bull Salzburg played Leipzig the other year for example.

But at the end of the day what can they do about it? Ownership will just be transferred into somebody elses name. You just gotta hope people don't take the piss.

 

[valspoodle]

Of course, if you grant ownership of a club to someone else, you'd better make sure that they want the same thing you do, otherwise, it might just go tits up.

Bit like putting the house in the wife's name then finding she loves someone else.

 

[Cloughie1975]

Part of the debate regarded the possibility of Brighton playing Tony Bloom’s other team in the Europa League and the issue around maintaining sporting integrity.

As there is so much multi-club ownership these days,I wouldn’t be surprised if UEFA relaxed the rules to
allow clubs with the same owner to play each other in the same competition.

 

[DanR]

The horse bolted many years ago when crooks like Maxwell were owning multiple clubs, despite passing ownership figuratively into the hands of family members.

 

[Quntib Hollox]

As there is so much multi-club ownership these days,I wouldn’t be surprised if UEFA relaxed the rules to
allow clubs with the same owner to play each other in the same competition.

The problems start if they somehow meet in the group stages of European competition and could contrive results to their benefit. Opens a can of worms.

 

[GreeksBearingGifts]

Was listening to Talksport this morning and they mentioned that UEFA will be holding a meeting regarding the issues surrounding owners who have control over more than one club and how to safeguard sporting integrity.
They were debating what controls they could impose.
This could have major implications for a lot of clubs . Man City, Brighton,Brentford and of course Forest.
Anyone got any thoughts on the subject and how this could impact us?

Uefa will do nothing which would damage its primary target, heavy cash flow. They already have safeguards for clubs belonging to the same owner competing in European competitions, they may ban ownership of more than one club in the same association (some associations already have such restrictions), they may limit movement between clubs belonging to the same owner, but nothing more radical will happen.

 

[Captain Sinister]

The problems start if they somehow meet in the group stages of European competition and could contrive results to their benefit. Opens a can of worms.

I think the problems begin well before the European Competition issue.
The problms start when a state government/online gamblng outfit/multi-billionaire don't have to worry about paying a few million extra to hoover up talent, knowing that their funding business (oil industries/gambling - which isn't gambling because the odds are all fixed by the company owners or whatever unstoppable cash cow provides the endless liquidity they need to control football).
Their clout with other national govenrments means that it is those petro-states/gambling houses that actually dictate to football what the rules are.
The problems started with the world's addiction to ouil and its derivatives, and to gambling and other addictive pursuits.
Money rules the world, and money is being cornered by the the few.
The world, not just football is f**ked to hell.

 

[Quntib Hollox]

Uefa will do nothing which would damage its primary target, heavy cash flow. They already have safeguards for clubs belonging to the same owner competing in European competitions, they may ban ownership of more than one club in the same association (some associations already have such restrictions), they may limit movement between clubs belonging to the same owner, but nothing more radical will happen.

The fact that they feel need to raise the issue means that they realise some legislation may be required. Hopefully it doesn’t impact our clubs massively.