QPR must pay £40m fine after losing FFP battle
Club hit with football’s biggest financial sanction Leicester, Bournemouth now face punishment
Queens Park Rangers have been ordered to pay a world-record £40 million fine after losing a threeyear battle against being found guilty of breaching Financial Fair Play rules during their most recent promotion-winning campaign.
The Championship club’s claims that the English Football League’s FFP regulations were “unlawful” and that the fine levied on them was “disproportionate” were dismissed by an arbitration panel, with both parties informed of the decision last week.
QPR confirmed yesterday they would be appealing against the verdict, which also spelt bad news for Leicester City and Bournemouth, who are also being pursued by the EFL over their promotion campaigns in 2013-14 and 2014-15, respectively.
Acknowledging it had taken “a long time” for the matter to be resolved, EFL chief executive Shaun Harvey said: “This decision vindicates the approach of the EFL board in defending this challenge. The board will continue to enforce our rules on clubs to protect the interests of those that do comply.”
QPR chief executive Lee Hoos added: “We are understandably disappointed with the decision and will be appealing.”
Rangers’ £40 million fine is thought to be the largest issued in sport, topping the £32 million the Mclaren Formula One team ended up being docked over the 2007 “Spygate” scandal.
It is also more than double the amount Manchester City and Paris St-germain ended up paying for breaching Uefa’s FFP regulations three years ago.
The Premier League and the then Football League both followed European football’s governing body in introducing cost-control measures in a bid to prevent clubs going bust.
Rules came into force in the lower leagues in 2012 which permitted Championship teams to make annual losses of £8 million, with any side exceeding this placed under a transfer embargo or – if promoted to the Premier League – issued with a fine.
QPR were widely expected to report massive losses in 2013-14 following their relegation from the Premier League on the back of a £41.1million spending spree on the likes of Loic Remy, Christopher Samba and Stephane Mbia.
But, after winning that season’s Championship play-off final, they reported a loss of just £9.8million after then owner, Tony Fernandes – now the club’s co-chairman – and other shareholders wrote off Costly success: QPR won promotion in 2014 but had accrued massive losses £60million in loans as an “exceptional item”. The Football League refused to do the same when it came to assessing their compliance with FFP regulations, imposing a £40million fine.
A three-year legal battle ensued before both sides agreed to the affair being settled by arbitration.
To complicate matters, the league relaxed its FFP rules in November of that year. Since then, Championship clubs have been permitted to lose £39million over a three-year period – even more if they have spent time in the Premier League.
QPR tried to exploit that decision to argue the original regulations had not been fit for purpose, but to no avail.
It was unclear last night whether the club would have to record any fine in their latest annual accounts – putting them in danger of failing FFP again this season – or would be allowed to exclude it.
The statement from Harvey did not bode well on that front, with the EFL chief saying: “The board understand the challenges that this decision could create for our valued member club and will work with them, as and when the matter formally concludes.”
Pending the outcome of any appeal, the EFL is now free to enforce fines on both Leicester and Bournemouth.
Leicester won the Championship in 2014 but went up on the back of losses of £20.8 million. They claimed their accounts were in compliance with FFP rules.
Bournemouth, fined £7.6million last year after posting losses of £38.3million during their promotion-winning season, were relying on QPR winning their case to overturn that punishment.