Cold sweats on the Canebière. Olympique de Marseille has been fined 3 million euros for violating the rules of financial fair play, UEFA announced on Friday 19 June. The judgment chamber of the club financial control commission (ICFC) of the European football authority has also decided to withdraw 15% of the sums that the club will receive for its participation in European competitions for 2020-2021 and, possibly, 2021-2022 if he is qualified, as well as imposing a limit of 23 players on the squad who can compete in the Continental Cups until 2022-2023.
A blow for OM, but the essential is preserved: the Marseille club escapes the ban on playing in the Champions League next season, a scenario feared by supporters.
The club is paying the financial imbalance in its 2018-2019 accounts, which has attracted the attention of the European body. OM has exceeded its negotiated deficit: while losses were not expected to exceed 50 million euros in June 2019, they were 91 million. Marseille, however, had signed an agreement covering four seasons, until 2023, where it pledged to cut spending to achieve balance.
As a reminder, financial fair play (FPF) prohibits a club engaged in European competition from spending more than it earns and closely supervises capital injections from owners.
