Turkish clubs issued new finance warning by UEFA

ISTANBUL

Fenerbahçe defender Egemen Korkmaz (L) and forward Moussa Sow react after the team has been knocked out of the Champions League playoffs against Spartak Moscow. Fenerbahçe and Eskişehirspor are among the 23 clubs whose prize money has been temporarily withheld. The UEFA decision comes after two Turkish clubs, Beşiktaş and Gaziantepspor were banned from European competitions due to financial irregularities. AA Photo

Fenerbahçe and Eskişehirspor were among the 23 clubs whose competition prize money for this season has been temporarily withheld by UEFA, in the latest wave of Turkish clubs being hit by the European football governing body’s financial sanctions.

According to a statement released by UEFA yesterday, the organization’s Club Financial Control Body’s (CFCB) investigatory chamber, chaired by former Belgian Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene, has announced that “23 clubs involved in 2012/13 UEFA club competitions have seen the payment of their prize money temporarily withheld pending further investigation.”

Turkish Spor Toto Super League runner-up Fenerbahçe and fifth-placed Eskişehirspor were hit with the sanctions along with 21 European clubs, including Spain’s Atletico Madrid and Malaga, and Portugal’s Sporting.

First measure

“As part of the first measure of the financial fair play requirements included in the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations 2012, the clubs participating in 2012/13 UEFA club competitions had to provide information regarding the status of any overdue payables as at June 30 2012,” the statement said. “Following its last meeting in August 2012, the CFCB investigatory chamber has identified that important overdue payables towards other clubs and/or towards employees or social/tax authorities existed in 23 cases,” it continued.

“This conservatory measure will remain in force until all identified balances have been settled in full.”
Fenerbahçe released a statement saying that the club had yet to pay “a debt worth 383,407 euros to one of its former players due to ongoing negotiations with the player.” The club said it was confident the problem would be solved as soon as the related documents are sent to UEFA.

The decision comes after two Turkish clubs, Beşiktaş and Gaziantepspor, were banned from European cups by UEFA for financial irregularities, including unpaid wages and providing incorrect information to the authorities on the payments.

Fenerbahçe will start playing in the Europa League group stages next week. Eskişehirspor, however, was knocked out of the competition in the third qualifying round.